Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula - 2009

After his first album Segu Blue was awarded in the category of Best Record of the Year in the 2008 edition of the "BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music," BassekouKouyate and his band Ngoni Ba present I Speak Fula (2009), a record that includes the Incredible energy from Bassekou and his Ngoni Ba, one more step in the career of one of Mali's most exciting and innovative musicians.

In I Speak Fula, the band once again affects the timbral basis (the ngoni) of traditional Mali music but with the paradox of revolutionizing the way of playing the instrument. In fact, it is said that in the 80s of the last century, a young BassekouKouyate in a television program, next to the legendary Rail Band of Mali, got up with his ngoni and, advancing to the front of the stage, began to play it as if it was an African Jimi Hendrix, the public being stunned by such provocation (until then the tradition marked that it should be played sitting down).

Bassekou's solo career began relatively late, although the ngoni was a tradition in his ancestors (he is the grandson of the revered Jeli). First it was his father, YagaraDamba, who taught him. Later, in Bamako, he collaborated with ToumaniDiabaté, with whom he recorded up to nine albums. The first time he came to Europe he did it with the same ToumaniDiabaté and HabibKoité. He has collaborated with Ketama (in Shongai 2), TajMahal, DeeDeeBridgewater, YoussouN'Dour, Ali FarkaTouré ... It was after the disappearance of the great Ali Farka when he formed the band Ngoni Ba, animated by the producer Lucy Duran (who has also produced his two albums). First it was a quartet and he recorded his first album, Segu Blue (2007).

Since then he has not stopped playing at worldmusic festivals all over the world. His shows are authentic musical celebrations and the energy that emerges from the stage is very similar to that of a rock concert, in addition to knowing how to transmit that intrinsic joy of his music. Over time the quartet has been transformed into a septet and two percussionists and his wife Amy Sacko are accompanied by the four different ngonis (known as the Tina Turner of Mali). In addition to getting the ngoni to be known to the general public, Bassekou continues to investigate its possibilities, adding more strings and trying new ways to press them.

In I Speak Fula he surrounds himself with the usual friends: ToumaniDiabaté (kora), VieuxFarkaTouré (electric guitar), KasseMadyDiabaté (vocal), HarounaSamaké (kamalengoni), AndraKouyaté (chorus), ZoumanaTereta (vocal and soku) and Baba Sissoko (dun) . It captures all the passion for life that Africa generates with its music. Disc that has been distinguished by the magazine fRoots as Album of the year 2009. A new step of one of the most interesting and innovative musicians of Mali, one of the countries with more geniuses of popular music in the world.

Tracks list:

01. I Speak Fula

02. Jamana be diya (feat. KasseMadyDiabaté, ToumaniDiabaté)

03. Musow - for our women

04. Torintorin (feat. HarounaSamake)

05. Bambugu blues (feat. AndraKouyaté, Vieux FarkaTouré)

06. Amy (feat. ZoumanaTereta)

07. Saro (feat. Vieux FarkaTouré)

08. Ladon

09. Tineni (feat. ToumaniDiabaté)

10. Falani

11. Moustapha