Mali’s Bassekou Kouyate to play the UK

The ngoni player, now 52, won Album of the Year and African Artist of the Year at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2008. In a recent interview, he spoke about Miri, his new album, and his thoughts concerning the violence in his homeland. 

“I am sure that we will find a way to make our beautiful country return to peace," he said. "We Malians are very strong in forgiving; we Malians are very strong in finding a solution. Jealousy is destroying Africa, we have to find a place in our heart where we can forgive, that is very important.”

Commenting on the kinship between Miri and his debut record Segu Blue, Kouyate said that while working on the former, he had an "image of myself in my head of sitting at the Niger River near my home town Garana thinking about what is going on in this country".

"A number of songs are quite thoughtful and talk about values and things that are really close to my heart. I felt I could better express these things and this mood with a more rootsier sound and a sound that is real close to the roots of my music that I come from."

Over the years, Kouyate has worked with a number of figures from the global music industry, including those introduced to him by Damon Albarn, whose Africa Express has provided an avenue for musical collaborations across genres. Miri sees him reunite with Habib Koite, with whom he has worked since 1988.

"Since then we have been friends and following what everyone has been doing. He loves my music. I adore his voice and the way he plays guitar. I have played on his album and now I invited him to play on mine," Kouyate said.

Speaking about the European reception to African music, Kouyate, who plays with his Ngoni Ba band, asserted that "many people in the world...love African music. Some even say it is like a medicine. If you have stress or are ill, you can listen to our music and your stress will be gone.

"Try it, for instance with the song 'Miri' on my new album, I recorded it picturing myself sitting at the Niger River contemplating about life. People don’t understand the lyrics but they hear the melody and the feel of the music. Here in Africa people understand every word and listen to that too. People in Europe listen with their hearts."