Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate (USA & Guinea)
“A fantastic meeting of different cultures and styles, it blends sounds and themes from opposite sides of the globe effortlessly” Music Week
"Kouyate’s kora mirrors the likes of Tinawaren whilst the delivery of Driscoll’s rhyming is super slick. Each artists style is almost custom made to compliment the others. This will appeal to fans of African music as much as fans of hip-hop and rap. A match made in heaven" Is this music
“A fantastic meeting of different cultures and styles, it blends sounds and themes from opposite sides of the globe effortlessly” Music Week
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate has toured North America twice since their triumphant debut in 2014. After the release of their acclaimed album 'Faya' by Cumbancha Discovery and a successful tour in the summer of 2014, Driscoll and Kouyate, backed by bassist John Railton and drummer James Breen, bring their electrifying collaboration to venues across the US and Canada starting January 29th, followed by full Europe tours though out the year.
The well-worn and often overblown expression "music is a common language" has never been more apropos in the case of Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate. Driscoll contributes the rapping, looping, beatboxing and songwriting talents he developed growing up in Syracuse, New York and during his own successful recording career. Kouyate, already a phenomenon in African music circles, has blown minds and ears with his hypersonic electrified riffs on the kora, bringing the exalted West African harp into the 21stCentury with use of distortion peddles, effects and previously-unimagined technical prowess.
"A gloriously accessible collision of styles. It's an unlikely collaboration that works, magnificently.” - The Guardian
“Mind blowing world music that redefines the term” The Big Issue
"Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate review – exuberant virtuosic fusion"
Monistic Theory
New album by JOe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate released May 2016 on Cumbancha
"African, funk and rap influences combine in an energetic performance that ends with a powerfully political surge. They have developed into a tight, attacking unit, in which the virtuoso kora work is integrated into sturdy playing from the band. Exuberant virtuosic fusion."- The Guardian
Set for release by Cumbancha on May 13, 2016, Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate’s electrifying second album, Monistic Theory, derives its title from the concept that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system. It's an apt philosophy for this boundary-crossing collaboration, one that brings together two musicians from vastly different backgrounds in search of the commonalities that are uniquely revealed by artistic expression.
'Faya'
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate 'Faya' Available Now
The collaboration between a rapper/beatboxer/singer-songwriter from Syracuse, NY and an electrifying African kora sensation from Guinea pushes genre boundaries and earns raves. Driscoll and Kouyate blend hip-hop, spoken word, funk, and soulful, accessible rock with Afrobeat, reggae and irrepressible African grooves.
"A boundary-trampling high-octane hybrid in which the lightning fast electrified licks of Kouyate are matched by the explosive energy of Driscoll's rapid fire rhyming." - Songlines
“Has the chicken-scratchy momentum of classic Afrobeat” Q
“Faya recalls the desert trance grooves of Tinariwen, while the looping lilt of ‘Ghetto Many’ conjures Cheikh Lo” Acoustic
·“I love this album so much; it’s such a brilliant way of experiencing multiple genres at once, and hearing them performed with the greatest of ease by two fantastic musicians makes them sound even better. ‘Faya’ is a fantastic listen, and definitely one of this year’s greatest” Elusive Little Comments
“A pretty damn good album” Shout4Music
"They certainly got the ever energized crowd even more hyped!" Altsounds
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate Awarded 2015
We are happy to announce the Second « Transatlantic Bridge » Prize’s winner:
The Prize was presented last week by Derek Andrews, Mundial Montreal’s Artistic Director, during Babel Med Music’s Official Prize Awarding.
The duo will therefore have the opportunity to present their second album Monistic Theory, during one of Mundial Montreal’s 5th edition’s Official Showcase.
Cumbancha will release Joe Driscoll & Sékou Kouyaté’s new album, Monistic Theory, in 2016.