Ba Cissoko is a

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

n world music band featuring five members, two of whom play the traditional Kora harp. Two band members play percussion instruments and one plays bass. The sound of the band has been described as "West Africa meets Jimi Hendrix".

Members

The band is named after the lead singer and electronic Kora player, Ba Cissoko, the nephew of the kora maestro M'Bady Kouyaté. Band members include Sekou Kouyaté also on kora, and bass player Kourou Kouyaté, both Ba Cissoko's younger cousins. *Ba Cissoko: Lead vocal, Kora,

tamani Tamani is a small town and commune in the Cercle of Barouéli in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maal ...

* Sekou Kouyaté: Kora (acoustical and electrical), vocal * Kourou Kouyaté: Bass, bolon, vocal * Ibrahima Bah "Kounkouré": Calebasse,

djembé A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, crin,

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

* Alhassane Camara:

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

History

Ba Cissoko was created in 1999 with just three members. The last member is featured on the album release from 2009 called ''Séno''. The band toured the UK supporting acclaimed

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n musician

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's ri ...

in 2007. Albums named ''Nimissa'' (2012) and ''Djeli'' (2016) followed. Sekou Kouyaté can with his electronically enhanced Kora harp produce a sound somewhat similar to that of fast guitar tapping, partly helped by the nature of the instrument. The new sound has earned Sekou the nickname of "Jimi Hendrix Africain", due to

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

style

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

References

External links

The official site for their first album, ''Sabolan''
— featuring a musical preview. Guinean Kora players Guinean musical groups World music groups {{Guinea-stub