At Basel's Sudhaus last night, Nigerien guitarist Bombino's songs began with rubato figures transitioning into the rhythms of Corey Wilhelm's tight drum patterns, Moctar Alassane's steady rhythm guitar, and Edd Bateman's pulsing bass lines. Bombino then sang a verse and chorus followed by a short instrumental passage; that pattern repeated one or more times. This established foundations for dancers to find their places in each tune’s groove. Then there were codas with ever-denser bass lines, explosive drum fills, that steady rhythm guitar, and Bombino's leads: less melodic than textural, psychedelic, and riff-driven. As the set went on, the codas pushed farther and farther into accelerandos for the dancers and the dance.(Andrew Shields, #111words, 13 February 2026)