What a weekend. Dressed-up horse races at Longchamp, young French dance parties, Swedish hip-hop découverts and of course Saturday night.

Hats off to Paris, France, for its Nuit Blanche. I’ve had a lot of really great nights over the last few years, but this past Saturday was one I won’t forget for a very long time. Part luck, part bicycle, part good company; this year’s Nuit Blanche ended up being an incredible affair marked by dozens of random experiences, dancing, music and obscure, strange encounters.

I found my way back to my bed sometime near 8am as the sun was rising, 9 hours and many, many kilometers later. Highlights include 6am rest sessions in Sacré Coeur surrounded by 300 live guitarists; scream-infused video golf in the 20th; underground laser lights and yelling public in the 12th; fashion shows and staggering absinthe shots (complete with manifestations) around Belleville; fire-extinguisher touting androgenous circus people mixed with giant giraffe engagements and live camel chill-out sessions way-out near Vincennes. Truly wonderful.

So I think that a much needed night-off Monday needs some relaxing West African 1960s danceband music to take the edge off, yeah?

I’ve written about Guinean music quite a lot on this site, but I’ve never posted any Balla et ses Balladins.

Around independence in 1959-60, Guinea-Conakry’s leaders wanted to promote local culture as a way of creating a new national identity. Several “national” bands were set-up, some official and others not. The state-sponsored Syli Orchestre National de Guinée produced two great bands, Balla et ses Balladins and Keletigui and his Tambourinis, after its split in 1959. This was the golden era of Guinean dance-band music. The most popular band to emerge out of this era was probably Bembeya Jazz National, who formed around in 1961 much under the influence of Balla and others.

Balla et ses Balladins are definitely worth a listen. Their occasional mid-tune guitar break-outs are what I like best. Here are three tracks from three different Syliphone albums to help your Monday go alright.

Balla et ses Balladins - Banbo
Balla et ses Balladins - Mana Mana
Balla et ses Balladins - Kaira