BBC World Music Award Winner Bassekou Kouyate launches UK Tour at Guildford International Music Festival

Friday 27 February 2009

On Thursday 26 March, Bassekou, a true master of the ngoni (a lute like instrument from Western Africa), will launch his UK tour with a performance at the University of Surrey’s Great Hall. He will be performing material from ‘Segu Blue’, his debut album which has secured critical acclaim across the music industry. Released in spring 2007, the album won exceptional critical acclaim. It ended up in numerous end-of-year lists such as the Observer Music Monthly's Best 50 Albums of 2007, Songlines magazine's 10 Best Albums of 2007 and The Guardian's 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die, as well as being number 3 in the World Music Charts Europe 2008. At the BBC Radio 3 Awards For World Music 2008 it was declared the winner of the Album Of The Year Critics Award, as decided by an international panel of nearly 300 writers, broadcasters, musicians, activists and people in the business, and conducted by fRoots magazine. In addition Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba won the Best African Act category at the Awards and they were also nominated as Best Newcomer.

The band have been guests on radio and TV, such as a performance on Later with Jools Holland (BBC 2) and have performed several times in the UK, including at the 2007 WOMAD Festival. They have established themselves as one of the most exciting live acts of the moment with their rocking, high energy performances.

The concert follows on from another great sub-Saharan band Tinariwen which appeared at the last Festival. It proved to be a major success and sold out very quickly. Festival Director Pauline Johnson said ‘We are very excited to be hosting the first night of Bassekou’s national tour. We hardly ever have the chance to hear world music in Guildford. By bringing wonderful musicians like these to the Festival we are responding to the growing appetite for music from other cultures.’

For ‘Segu Blue’, his debut solo album, Bassekou has put together Mali’s first ngoni quartet, Ngoni ba (meaning ‘the big ngoni’) which also includes Oumar Barou Kouyate, Moussa Bah and Andra Kouyate. His band also includes Alou Coulibaly (calebasse) and Moussa Sissoko (percussion) and his wife, the singer Amy Sacko (the so-called ‘Tina Turner of Mali’), as well as guest musicians Kasse Mady Diabate, Lobi Traore, Lassana Diabate and guest vocalists Zoumana Tereta and Ma Soumano. (Incidentally, there is no Kora or djembe on this album.) The album was produced by Lucy Durán, recorded at studio Bogolan in Bamako by Yves Wernert and mixed in London by Jerry Boys (the man responsible for recording and mixing ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ amongst others).

Bassekou was born in the village of Garana, almost 40 miles from Segu, in the remote countryside on the banks of the Niger River. He was raised in a traditional musical environment, his mother a praise singer and his father and brothers exceptional ngoni players. Bassekou moved to Bamako when he was 19 years old where he met the young Toumani Diabate. By the late 1980s Bassekou was part of Toumani’s Symmetric trio (alongside Keletigui Diabate) and they recorded their first albums together, ‘Songhai’ and ‘Djelika’. Bassekou was involved in Toumani Diabate’s ‘Kulanjan’ project as well which also featured Taj Mahal. Moreover, Bassekou was one of the key musicians on Ali Farka Toure’s posthumous album ‘Savane’ and also toured with him. (As a tribute to the great man Bassekou recorded the track ‘Lament for Ali Farka’ for his album.) Bassekou has collaborated with many musicians outside of Mali, too, such as Ry Cooder and Bela Fleck and more recently Youssou N'Dour (on his album 'Rokku Mi Rokka') and Dee Dee Bridgewater (on her album 'Red Earth').

You can sample some of his wonderful music at www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

The performance on Thursday 26 March at University of Surrey Great Hall starts at 8:30 p.m. At the end of the performance, there is a ‘Meet the Artists’ session – a great opportunity to talk to the musicians and see the instruments close up.

Concert tickets are £18 full / £16 senior citizens / £10 concessions. They are available from the Box Offices: 01483 444334, 01483 444789, 01483 686876 (University events only). You can also book online at www.guildfordinternationalmusicfestival.co.uk. Brochures are available from the Tourist Information Centre, The Electric Theatre, Festival venues and at most public places in and around Guildford. Alternatively, you can order or download a brochure online.

Media Enquiries

Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk