Since Kouyate first appeared in 2007 with the Segu Blue album I have been following his development as a musician and as a leader in the music of Mali. Ba Power is, without question, his most powerful and most confident album yet but somehow he manages to keep the special character that his music embodies.
For those who don’t know, the ngoni is a lute like stringed instrument that looks like an undersized cricket bat, fretless and apparently made of hide and calabash it is normally played as a solo instrument. In addition to the standard ngoni there are also bass ngoni and where Kouyate made a difference to the traditional sound was to bring a number of ngonis together and mix in electronics and percussion to create an ngoni band or Ba so Ngoni Ba means ngoni band and the title of the album refers to the sheer power of the band.
This is a massive leap from his last album, ‘Jama Ko’, which was subdued and saddened by the civil war that was raging in Mali at the time (in fact the studio was in the middle of a raging firefight while they recorded).
Right from the opening strains of ‘Siran Fen’ with the ngoni riffing and furious percussive clicking bringing in a vocal chorus that almost seems exultant you feel the emotive release of the music. When Kouyate’s wife Ami Sacko takes up the lead vocal she rises out of the mix like a siren and in addition the track features a guitar solo from Chris Brockaw that takes the music to a whole further place. The number is massively expressive and powerful and almost seems to be a statement that “we have survived, nothing can stop us!” A personal favorite is ‘Abe Sumaya’ with Amy Sacko’s vocal quivering with passion over a steady, almost plodding, beat and Kouyate’s ngoni dropping pearls of notes to give the whole song the most wonderful texture. ‘Waati’ has some hints of a Celtic folk song with the ngoni playing almost between a fiddle and a banjo.
The album was recorded in the family compound just outside Bamako with all the original recordings made with family – brothers, nephews, spouses – playing together.
The production is by Chris Eckman (of Tamikrest and Dirt Music fame) and he brought some superstars of African music in to the mix – Samba Toure, Zoumana Tereta, Adjama Yalombo, the aforementioned Brockaw – but the essence of the music is Bassekou Kouyate’s vision and sheer musicianship.
Ami Sacko sings with even more passion and heart than she has shown in the past and the family relationships of the band ensure that they are playing as a whole.
Without question the best that this remarkable musician has made and a must for anyone with any understanding of Blues and World music.
