About: Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate
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
across Europe.
"A gloriously accessible collision of styles. It's an
unlikely collaboration that works, magnificently." – The Guardian (UK)
"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 (UK)
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. US-born, England-based Driscoll speaks no French and
Kouyate, who hails from the West African country of Guinea, little English.
When they were brought together at the Nuit Metis (Mixed Night) festival in
Marseille, France in 2010 and given a week to produce a concert, music was the
only way they could communicate.
It turns out, they had a lot to "talk" about, and
their first meeting sparked a collaboration that led to the formation of a
band, the recording of an album, over 120 concert dates across Europe and rave
reviews. 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 21st Century with use of
distortion peddles, effects and previously-unimagined technical prowess.
Together, Driscoll and Kouyate blend hip-hop, spoken word, funk, and soulful,
accessible rock with Afrobeat, reggae and irrepressible African grooves.
February 2014, Cumbancha Discovery introduced the world to
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate's debut album Faya, which earned praise from
tastemakers and devoted fans across Europe where they have performed in many of
the continent's top festivals and venues. Faya reached the number 2 spot on the
prestigious World Music Charts Europe, a survey of top international music DJs
across the continent. Their album earned Joe & Sekou a nomination for Best
Cross-Cultural Collaboration from Songlines, the UKs definitive global music
magazine.
Sekou Kouyate
Sekou Kouyate was raised in a respected and accomplished
musical family in Conakry, Guinea. Trained in the ancient traditions of his instrument,
it is his ability to transcend and build upon those traditions that has set him
apart. In France, he is known as the 'Jimi Hendrix of the kora' because of his
unique style of playing with various effects, in a variety of genres, and with
an extreme intensity. Kouyate has toured the world over as a member of the Ba
Cissoko band, comprised of his cousin and brothers.
Joe Driscoll
Joe Driscoll, whom Cee-Lo Green labelled "the gangsta
with an iron lung," has been touring steadily for years, spreading his
unique fusion of folk and hip-hop. The modern day take on the one man band, he
uses live looping to create soundscapes full of beatbox, guitar, harmonica,
percussion, harmonica, and just about anything else he can make use of. Now
living in Bristol, England, Driscoll has performed his ground breaking solo
show at the famed Glastonbury Festival, Electric Picnic in Ireland, and
hundreds of major stages worldwide.
By teaming up, Driscoll and Kouyate have created a sum that
exceeds even the large whole of its individual parts. According to Driscoll,
"We've been raised in very different cultures in so many ways, but we
share a lot of the same interests musically. Sekou was raised in the African
rhythm and traditions, yet has always had a passion for reggae, hip-hop. I'm
kind of the other way around. At the heart of it, we both just make the noises
we love; we listen to each other, and try to flow in harmony. I think we just
bounced off each other in so many ways: rhythmically, melodically, with
craftsmanship. Through this, we found we had a language between us and that
philosophically we were on a lot of the same pages as well."
The songs on Faya address burning social issues, commenting
on poverty, borders, immigration and inequality. According to Driscoll, "
We wrote about things that we knew and experienced, things that were important
to us. We've both travelled the world extensively, so dealing with these issues
was a very important part of the experience. We had things we wanted to say
about them. The message is the seed. Some people just enjoy the fruit, but we
try to spread the seeds with a positive vibe." Kouyate sings in French and
his native Susu language and Driscoll expounds in lightning fast bursts of
cunningly crafted English.
"One day in Africa, there will be no borders,"
declares Kouyate in French at the beginning of the album's opening track
"Tanama", establishing a consistent theme about the fallacy of the
imaginary lines that separate the people of the world. On the second song
"Passport," Driscoll responds to Kouyate's chorus "Music is my
passport," by singing "Because its only you, you see / Who has made a
boundary." The scorching third track "Faya", a tribute to fire
in its literal and metaphorical sense, highlights Sekou's kora wizardry,
Driscolls vocal dexterity and the unstoppable grooves they create together.
It’s a remarkable first third of an accomplished debut album, and the balance
of the album is equally compelling.
With plans already in the works to record a follow-up album,
Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate have discovered that music speaks louder than
words.
CONTACT: http://joeandsekou.com/contact
Barra - (Live on KEXP 2015)
Passport – (Live on KEXP 2015)
Tokira - (Live on KEXP 2015)
Lady - (Live Radio Paris 2013)
Faya (2013)
Wonamati - (live at the Woodshed, Bristol UK 2012)
Concert - (Korsa Live 2015) (Part 1)
Concert - (Korsa Live 2015) (Part 2)
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Official Website
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Last FM
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Cumbancha
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Facebook
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Twitter
VIDEO
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - YouTube
BUY MUSIC
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Official Store
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - iTunes
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Amazon
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Bandcamp
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