23/10/2009 by bakary.

Bassekou Kouyate is the Ngoni master. (It must be true… it’s written on Mr Kouyate’s outfit!). He’s also a fun and fantastic musician and so I couldn’t believe my luck when I found out the band was playing at the Jazz Cafe in Camden… and there were still a few tickets available!

A Ngoni looks like this:

It’s an ancient forgotten instrument which Bassekou Kouyate has made his own. Keeping elements of traditional Malian music and songs, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba are giving the Ngoni a new lease of life, through an amp!

The band soon had us singing and dancing. They were quite chatty as well and even though a lot of the dialogue was in French, the audience responded. And it was all very good humoured… which is just as well because it could have ended up as a disaster.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba on stage, having fun and playing great music: fun.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba on stage, having fun and playing great music, with Damon Albarn joining in with a melodica: not fun. (For goodness’s sake Damon, what were you wearing? A red USA baseball cap… why? And shouldn’t you have in bed? You looked ready for it).

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba on stage, having fun and playing great music, with some random guy from the audience with a woolly hat: not fun. (Guy with the woolly hat: did you think you’d turn up at a open mic event?).

Seriously… there were a couple of embarrassing moments. A few whispers around me. Yet, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba kept the show going and if they were a little frustrated and impatient, they didn’t show it. I take my hat off to them! It was a superb show! 

And as the playlist was on stage when we got there… you can have a look at it now and play the tracks at home to recreate the evening… but be warned… you’ll have to provide your own people with hats…

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13/09/2009 by bakary.

The Kora is an amazing instrument: it’s lovely to look at; it’s intricate to play (with 21 strings) and it produces a whole range of sounds. It’s iconic.

It did pain me to leave the sunshine for this 3pm gig… but I soon got over that. The Kora trio played to a small audience, in the Purcell Room (Southbank Centre).

We are told that N’Faly Kouyate, Ba Cissoko and Prince Diabate are childhood friends. They each play the Kora in their own way, creating their own distinctive sound. You could close your eyes and you would know which player was playing. (In the same way that you can instantly identify Toumani Diabate when he plays).

The music was poetic. The songs were beautiful.

Looking at them playing, you would think that the Kora is an easy instrument to play. They are astounding musicians and very talented.

Ba Cissoko, looking very solemn, produced a very professional performance. Prince Diabate was more flamboyant and modern. N’Faly Kouyate more traditional.  Their differences were apparent during the whole performance, but particularly evident from the solo piece they each performed. Their outfits also perfectly reflected their personalities.

With the last song, Ba Cissoko decided to have us standing, singing and clapping… ‘to create an atmosphere’.

We were told this was the trio’s first performance in fifteen years, ‘but hopefully not the last’, said N’Faly Kouyate (who then asked cheekily whether we thought it should be the last, giving us another one of his hugely infectious smiles). No… we want more.

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18/07/2009 by bakary.

That’s the thing about London… Reading Time Out, you always come across unexpected treasures!

I found out about Indian Late yesterday morning. The programme promised an evening of events, all free. I got there just before 6:30pm and queued straight away for tickets (some events required free entry tickets). I queued for about 40 minutes to be informed, when there were only about 15 people in front of me, that all tickets had gone! Not a good start…

Determined to make the most of my evening, I consulted the programme again.

The main attraction was the Magic Mela: an evening of 1000 joys; performances of music, song and dance of the Federation of Indian Performing Arts in the Great Court. With a big crowd watching, it was hard to get a good view so I decided to go behind stage and watch from the side. Although not ideal, this offered me glimpses of the performers resting between acts. And throughout the evening, I found myself popping back to watch performances and performers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There was an opportunity to find out about Indian board games in Room 1. We had a go at Pachisi, the national game of India. With only two of us, the game did not last long. The rules are not hard to grasp but this game would definitely benefit from having more players so you can get more tactical. Still… we had fun!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In Room 17, amidst Greek antiquities, I watched Bharatnatyam dancing from southern India. It felt a lot more colourful and vibrant than the dances in the Great Court. The dancer I watched certainly made me feel that he was dancing a story. I’m not sure if I’m explaining this as best I can… but he wasn’t just dancing, he was acting a dance.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
A section of the Great Court was devoted to an art workshop. The Jumbo painting: Vali, Rama and Lakshmana workshop gave people of all ages a chance to join in and their drawings were all added to a growing herd marching across the museum floor… It was highly enjoyable to watch all these elephants, of various shapes and individuality, coming together over the course of the evening.

I don’t know whether last night was a one-off or whether the Museum will organise similar events in the future. It was educational but it was also great fun…. and it was all free!

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12/12/2008 by bakary.

Yes, I did catch up with Muntu Valdo at the Barbican (free) Jazz festival event, as promised. And I’m glad I did. He was excellent!

The set lasted approx. 30 mins.He played Leta, which is fast becoming my favourite track. (I’ve linked to an old live recording to get you to experience as close to the real thing as possible; Leta is the second song).

The stage was in the foyer and a few people had gathered early. By the time I got there, about 40 people were mingling and waiting patiently. By the end of the set, about 300 people were watching. Yes, some of these people were there for the event gig but although they may have intended to just see what was going on, they stayed till the end and let me tell you… Muntu got a great ovation at the end (which he fully deserved). About three people came to ask me who he was. The man is making friends!

I’m not sure what he had expected but he sounded genuinely surprised that so many people were there for him, watching him. Yes, he may have played to bigger audiences but never that close and personal. It was brilliant!

 Muntu Valdo rocks.

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26/10/2008 by bakary.

What a line up! Amadou & Mariam, Sola Akingbolá, Daara J Family, Baaba Maal, Souad Massi, Oumou Sangare, Rachid Taha, Bassekou Kouyaté, Toumani Diabaté…

It kicked off with Sola Akingbolá (Jamiroquai percussionist). Okay, it did need something noisy to start off the evening and he did his very best to get the crowd going. Not quite my cup of tea however and considering how many artists were lined up for the evening, I feel that he was on stage for a long time. He made way for Muntu Valdo who sang, sadly, only a couple of songs… so poetic, so captivating… (there’s a great biography of Muntu Valdo on MySpace as well as a few live clips). I was holding my breath… and I don’t think I was the only one. And if you’re not busy on 16 November, I urge you to make your way to the Barbican’s London Jazz Festival Free stage at 18:00 as it looks like Muntu Valdo will be making an appearance. I’ll be there!

Daara J Family literally bounced on stage and got the crowd singing, dancing and… bouncing! The Senegalese Hip Hop band really brought a smile to my face, they have so much energy and they’re just such fun. I can’t say that I’m into rap but that’s the second time I’ve seen them now and they have a lot to say!

Amadou and Mariam were the last band to come on before the interval. I was so looking forward to them but I can’t quite put my finger on it; it just didn’t work for me. Quite tame. Damon Albarn joined Mariam for a song. Maybe it was the sound; I don’t know… slightly disappointing anyway.

I had to leave then, due to personal reasons.

My feelings up to that point were mixed and from a few people I caught up with a few days after the show, I don’t think I’m the only one thinking this. It seems that the show was thrown together a bit and may be the artists didn’t have time to rehearse properly. Still… the line up was fantastic and we want more events like this!

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07/10/2008 by bakary.

I was really looking forward to this. There is a lot of ‘World Music’ about these days but I feel that Bassekou Kouyate still has a freshness about him that is hard to ignore. I was bowled over by Segu Blue when it came out. Bassekou Kouyate’s energy on stage was contagious and his joy was evident for all to see. mapsadaisical has a good review of the gig (with photos) so there’re no need for me to go into too much detail…

But Tartit won me over. I’d never heard of them; I hadn’t even paid any attention to the fact that they were part of the gig!

It’s easy to liken their music and style to that of Tinariwen. Tartit are also a Tuareg group from Mali. But there’s something about Tartit which is raw in the sense that they’re not yet the ‘cool’ band to see. They are being discovered now and their sound is still very much theirs. Pure.

Their outfits were stunning and hinted at the mystery that the Tuareg are. And when they introduced themselves as a Tuareg band from the Timbuktu region, I was entranced.

The songs were punctuated by what seemed like impromptu dancing and clapping… and you felt transported, almost, to the desert, with Tartit sitting in a semi-circle, as if around the fire, passing the evening.  This feeling was reinforced when one of the women said that it can be harsh living in the desert; there is little water; no educational facilities and no health posts… but it is their home and they love it…

Tihar Bayatin, the camel song, was fun. Fitting also that Tartit should have a song to celebrate camels; the Tuareg being so dependant on them. The guttural sounds and the dancing did lift the audience. You can listen to the track for free on Last.fm.

In the Barbican pamphlet, one of the female member of the band says: ‘Among the Tuareg, everybody makes music. In the camps, all the children and young people would gather together between the tents, singing and dancing‘.

What a discovery!

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