Blog August 31, 2015
Video Premiere: Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Segal on Bamako Rooftop
Ballaké Sissoko, one of the world’s foremost kora players, and inventive French cellist Vincent Segal first collaborated on the outstanding album Chamber Music in 2009. On Sept. 11, they are releasing a follow-up to that recording, Musique de Nuit on Six Degrees Records. Afropop is thrilled to premiere a video clip, “Diabaro,” from the new album--a rare look at two masters of stringed instruments, playing naturally in the peaceful setting of a quiet Malian evening with a setting sun in the background.
Sissoko, whose father, Djelimady Sissoko, was an accomplished kora player in his own right, first rose to fame after a 1981 duet with Toumani Diabate at the tender age of 13. Segal has backed a wide variety of artists, including Elvis Costello, Blackalicious, and the late Cape Verdean diva, Cesaria Evora. The two artists first met at a festival for string players and quickly became friends, finding parallels in their repertoires of Malian and European classical music. Segal, who grew up in the Pigalle district of Paris, an area with many African immigrants, found himself at ease accompanying Sissoko’s kora.
Together, Sissoko’s kora and Segal’s cello intertwine harmoniously, providing an exciting preview of the new album. Check out the video below:
