AFROPOP WORLD WIDE
The current round of the consistently crazy cool, crazy ambitious project Africa Express comes to fruition in the wider world today with the release of the full-length, “Maison Des Jeunes.” APWW devotees rest assured that our review is on its way, but first we wanted to take a minute and talk about the live video for the AE version of  Salif Keita and Cesaria Evora’s classic love song, “Yamore.” 

OkayAfrica posted this video this morning and referred to it as a “stripped down” version of the Damon Albarn produced track. Stripped down it might be, but here’s hoping that the studio version is not much more built out than this live take. Albarn is an inventive and adventurous producer who has fashioned some very beautiful, very detailed pop bangers in his time, but listening to this recording, it’s hard to imagine that the song would need anything more than it’s already working with here.

To start: this is a recording of an incredibly gifted young talent (Kankou Kouyaté, niece of ngoni-maestro/APWW favorite Bassekou Kouyate) performing alongside some of the most talented ngoni players around (Gambari, an ensemble almost entirely comprised of Kouyatés!). It doesn’t hurt that the song is well crafted as well. “Yamore” begins by offering up something like an instrumental mission statement, with instruments gradually entering until the full groove comes to the foreground. With what seems like an absolute minimum of moving pieces, this song and these performers have created a coolly impassioned and measured work of beauty. You can hear the big beat and the even bigger bass line that this song would have been given if it were produced more in line with the contemporary electric Malian sound, and maybe you’re like us and you’re thankful for the breath of fresh air that this stripped down recording offers up. Regardless of the fully produced track's impact, this version has nailed a restrained elegance and quiet power that is breathtakingly its own.

David Honigmann, Financial Times, Nov 29 2019

Kankou Kouyate comes from a leading family of Malian musicians — her uncle is the ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate — but her career has brought her into frequent contact with Western musicians. She was part of Africa Express’s Maison Des Jeunes project; she sings on the soundtrack of They Will Have To Kill Us First, the 2015 documentary about musicians displaced by the civil war of 2011. This solo album teams her up with Mark Mulholland, a Scottish guitarist and frequent Bamako resident — his album as part of the Alba Griot Ensemble, mixing Celtic folk music with ngoni blues, was a highlight of 2018.Mulholland plays nearly all the instruments — guitars, bass, occasional organ, bouzouki — providing a sympathetic setting for Kouyate’s voice, an unhurried alto more than capable of rising above even grungy guitar work. Olaf Hund adds effects, notably the dripping-tap beats on “Dimi”, a Bambara Romeo and Juliet; Vincent Bucher’s harmonica on “Bin” and “Ko Da Koma” fit neatly into the ambience. But in the main, this is Kouyate and Mulholland’s album. The opener “Sigi” frames a long lament about the inequality of Malian women (slaves if they marry; vilified if they do not) against a repeating blues riff — as Kouyate reaches the wordless lament of the chorus, the guitar drops away revealing a stern bass pulse. Mulholland’s guitar picking on “Da”, about a braggadocious figure of fun, has a hint of Scottish pastoral. Things turn tougher on the title track, grittily anthemic guitar riffs playing off against dribbles of electronica as Kouyate warns against the destructive potential of words.The soundworld of “Bin”, a denunciation of violence and knife crime, owes something to the American South, with harmonica like a distant train whistle, and a repeating acoustic riff: the song feels like a three-way conversation. “Ko Da Koma”, with its banjo and slide guitar, also has a country-and-western clop. There is another side of Mali on “Obadya”. “In Mali we dance, we sing, there’s joy and celebration.” The song circles back on itself like Amadou and Mariam’s “Beaux Dimanches”, which told much the same story. “It’s good, it’s good, it’s good.” There is fizzing young love on “Ne Bi Fe”, with beats thumping like pounded dough and a light, free accompaniment. The unsettling “Yande” gives way to the slightly saccharine “Djuguya”.★★★★☆‘Kuma’ is released by Cannery Row

Darren's music blog February 10, 2020 Album reviews

Kankou Kouyate’s ‘Kuma’ album – when the Mali singer-songwriter met the Scottish folk-rock guitarist…

Back in 2017, Kankou Kouyate a singer and songwriter from Mali from a renowned musical family, met Scottish musician Mark Mulholland. A collaboration ensued which led to a batch of original songs fusing both African and western influences. The ten-track album Kuma (meaning “words” in Bambara – Mali’s most common language) is the result of that collaboration. Parisian musician Olaf Hund adds electronic beats and on a couple of tracks Vincent Bucher provides some beautifully evocative harmonica. Combined with the rock, blues and folk influences of Mulholland’s guitar work and Kankou’s enchanting voice they have created something altogether.

In Mali, Kouyate has worked with musicians such as Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate and Cheick Tidiane Seck. She’s collaborated in Africa Express and also contributed to the soundtrack for a 2015 documentary about musicians displaced by Mali’s civil war while internationally she has worked with the likes of DamonAlbarn, Brian Eno and Nick Zinner.

KUMA, Cannery Row Records 6th December 2019

“One of the best records of the year” (6*/6*) Globalnyt – DK – No 1 in top 10 albums of 2019

“Although only released in December for me this is the debut album of the year” Rockshot Magazine – top 50 albums of the year 2019 - UK

“A wonderful album that I have been happily listening to on repeat without getting bored at all, easily one of the debut albums of the year” Whisperin' & Hollerin' (9*/10*) - UK

“My word! that's one terrific afro-pop album” (4*/5*) Songlines – UK

“An exceptionally rich and varied album, which seems to effortlessly span musical cultures” Northern Sky (4*/5*) - UK

“Grittily anthemic guitar riffs playing off against dribbles of electronica, and a harmonica like a distant train whistle ... providing a sympathetic setting for Kouyate’s voice, an unhurried alto more than capable of rising above even grungy guitar work” The Financial Times (4*/5*) - UK

“On the album ‘Kuma’ we hear ‘African music with a western twist’ or ‘Western music with an African twist’. Both are great and both are beautiful!” Music Frames - NL

“Magical new album in which Kankou Kouyate’s Malian heritage blends with Mark Mulholland’s Glasgow-based rock” Penny Black Music - UK

“A fascinating experiment that isn’t afraid to dive into and play around with various styles” Small Music Scene - UK

“Issue d’une prestigieuse lignée de griots, (Kankou) met du rock dans le moteur de mélodies ancestrales, que butinent des beats électroniques.” L'Humanité - FR

“A promise for the future!” Mixed World Music - NL

“Amazingly good - African rock, spiced with blues and folk, and always with that beautiful voice of Kankou which keeps everything together. World fusion at its very best. A gorgeous album.” Moors Magazine - NL

“Kuma is a wonderfully produced album, one of beauty, of confronting ignorance and hopeful change.” Liverpool Sound and Vision (8.5*/10*) - UK

“Boundary-blurring contemporary Malian songs” World Music Central - USA

“Plus qu’une simple cohabitation, c’est à une véritable complicité musicale qu’on assiste avec plaisir.” Le Canard Folk - BE

Number 39 in top 50 albums of 2019 Cambridge 105 FM The Smelly Flowerpot Show - UK

Number 14 World Music Charts Europe January 2020

“An eclectic, innovative combination of African and Western styles that has much to recommend to fans of psychedelia, folk, and world fusion alike” - Bliss Aquamarine

“Kuma consistently delights” - Rock'n'Reel (4*/5*) - UK

“A strikingly gentle voice mixed with some fine tunes. Exquisite.” Fatea – UK

"Wonderful music and fantastic vocals and a record that deserves the attention of everyone involved in world music! " Rootstime - BE

“One of the most suggestive and engaging voices of the current Malian scene, and this album is a perfect synthesis between blues-rock, acoustic folk and subtle electronic rhythms” Wiriko (chosen as one of the top 6 albums in December) – ES

“This is a stunning album, a connecting of minds, music and ideas, where similarities and differences create interest and beauty. From swirling hypnotic soundscapes, mutant country, folk, to desert blues, Kouyate and this gathered band manage to both blaze and soothe” Time Past and Time Passing - UK

“Hypnotic Malian blues meets rock - an excellent long-playing debut” Tropicalidad – BE

“With instruments like organ, mouth organ and even bouzouki, “Kuma” sounds fresh and contemporary, which proves once again that musical boundaries do not exist.” Jazzism - NL