ORCHESTRA GOLD

  • CURRENT RELEASE

    • Release
      Medicine
      January 20, 2023
      BUY

  • AUDIO

          1. Gende

  • Upcoming shows

    No shows booked at the moment.

    • Click here to download two hi-res band photos of Orchestra Gold (credit: Ginger Fierstein) and “Medicine” album art

    Oakland, CA-based ensemble Orchestra Gold offers a kaleidoscope of sound deeply rooted in the Malian tradition while introducing a genre-bending nod to the future through their rare and artful fusion of African Psychedelic Rock. This original sound with a retro feel results from a decade-long collaboration between Mariam Diakite of Mali and Erich Huffaker of Oakland. The music of Orchestra Gold represents this powerful intersection, transcending borders and boundaries to be a force of healing within the community.

    OG’s vibrant sound is spearheaded by the dynamic Mariam Diakite, whose raw, hypnotic vocals deliver heartfelt and thought-provoking lyrics in the highly symbolic Bambara language. While paying homage to Malian musical traditions, this fierce new sound thrives with heavy swinging rhythms, a funky fresh brass section, and cosmic guitar licks. With the January 2023 release of their third album, Medicine, this profoundly spiritual and dance-inducing ensemble continues their pursuit of spreading healing and community through the universal gift of music. 

    OG recently opened for Afrobeat living legend Ebo Taylor at The UC Theatre, and they’ve performed live at Treefort, Oakland Museum of California, Bandcamp, Commissioned for Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Joshua Tree Music Festival.

    Orchestra Gold’s new studio album Medicine is out now on vinyl, CD and all digital/streaming platforms.

    For booking inquiries contact:
    Nina Sacco
    Ninatsacco@gmail.com
    732.768.3767

    Click here for more info on Orchestra GOLD.

    Comments are closed.

  • Here’s what people have been saying about Orchestra GOLD’s new “Medicine” LP…

    • “…pure fire… I want to see this band so bad” – Bob Boilen, NPR

    • [A-] “Orchestra Gold pull off an impressive feat, combining Malian roots gusto with ripples of African psych-rock. In the process their latest record connects as both traditional and the modern. While Medicine is a wicked style hybrid, Orchestra Gold is primarily about movement.” – Joseph Neff. THE VINYL DISTRICT

    • “… a hypnotic brew that draws heavily on African music but blends it seamlessly with American rock and funk, jazzy brass parts, and some wild guitar work. Though it’s only January, it’s probably not too soon to predict that this intoxicating album will wind up being a contender for the best world-music release of 2023.” – Jeff Burger, THE AQUARIAN

    • “If you haven’t heard Orchestra Gold yet, you are in the ride of your life. This album will definitely become a classic in the years to come, and it will be talked about, for a very long time.” – Zachary Nathanson, ECHOES AND DUST

    • “Rising Bands ready to break out at SXSW in Austin in 2023: Orchestra Gold’s bombastic jams feel like they could be piped in on an old transistor radio from a faraway land. Or another dimension.” – AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

    • “Bands to Discover This Year at SXSW: From beatboxing monks to Afro-psychedelia, impress your SXSW friends by referencing this list of up-and-coming artists… Orchestra Gold’s kaleidoscope of sound is deeply rooted in the Malian tradition, and introduces a genre-bending nod to the future through their rare and artful African psychedelic rock.” – AUSTIN MONTHLY

    • “The new single ‘Keleya’ by African psychedelic rock group Orchestra Gold hits you with a certain level of profundity, cosmic swirl, and Fela-like groove. Mariam Diakite delivers raw, mesmerizing vocals. Attacking saxophone charts, measured bass lines, and galvanic meter serve as the ideal foundation for expanding guitar lines that squall through. In a nutshell, it’s dope.” – John-Paul Shiver, 48 HILLS

    • “On Orchestra Gold’s new album Medicine you can hear the influence of traditional Malian music and classic psychedelic rock. A mash-up of two musical worlds in one solid sound.” – Tshego Letsoalo, KALW RADIO

    • “‘Keleya (Jealousy)’ combines brass horns along with cosmic guitar licks to a hypnotic effect. This is the kind of music you can truly get lost in.” – IF IT’S TOO LOUD

    • “For fans of Vieux Farka Touré and Malian desert blues contemporaries like Tinariwen and Mdou Moctar, this music will resonate in a big way. But where Orchestra GOLD diverges from these acts is the way they incorporate deep funk, psychedelia and Afrobeat.” – Neil Ferguson, GLIDE MAGAZINE

    • “Orchestra Gold’s latest single ‘Koniya (No Benefit to Envy)’ features shuffling rhythms, scorching feedback and distortion-driven riffs serving as a lysergic and sinuous bed for Diakite’s gorgeous vocal. The end result is a song that arches upward towards the cosmos while rooted in earthly matters.” – William Ruben Helms, THE JOY OF VIOLENT MOVEMENT