Toumani Diabate - New Ancient Strings [180g Vinyl LP]

Toumani Diabate - New Ancient Strings [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: LP, Vinyl, Album
• Catalogue Number: CRV1637
• Barcode: 840401700952
• Genre: World Music / West African
• Label: World Circuit
• Released: 2008
• Pressing: Vinyl LP
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

New Ancient Strings is a kora duet album by Toumani Diabate and Ballakou Sissoko, two musicians from the great griot families of Mali. The album pays homage to a 1970 recording by their fathers, Sidiki Diabate and Djelimady Sissoko, which was one of the first kora recordings to reach an international audience. The "new" in the title signals both continuation and renewal of that tradition.

The twenty-one-string kora is the harp-like instrument of the Mande griots, traditionally used to accompany oral histories and praise songs. In the hands of Diabate and Sissoko, two koras create a shimmering, intricate web of sound, each player's lines weaving around the other's with the ease of a conversation between lifelong friends. The music is at once ancient and contemporary, rooted in centuries of tradition yet sounding utterly alive. Tracks like Bi Lamban and Hamadoun Toure demonstrate the extraordinary melodic and rhythmic possibilities of this most beautiful of instruments.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Si Naani
2. Bi Lamban
3. Hamadoun Toure
4. Kaira

Side B

1. Salaman
2. Atwillah
3. Lampedusa
4. Toumani

Credits

• Toumani Diabate - Kora
• Ballakou Sissoko - Kora