Bassekou Kouyate (ML)

About

Bassekou Kouyate has done something radical with the ngoni, a West African lute that predates the banjo by centuries. Where it was traditionally a seated accompaniment instrument, he plays it standing, amplified and run through distortion and wah wah pedals like an electric guitar, backed by a full band of ngoni players covering bass, rhythm and lead roles. The result is a sound described as hypnotic and hard rocking at once, blending Malian blues, funk and rock in a way nobody had really heard before. His 2007 debut Segu Blue put him on the international map, and he has kept building from there, collaborating with the likes of Toumani Diabaté and Béla Fleck and appearing at major festivals across Europe. His wife Amy Sacko sings lead in the band Ngoni Ba, and his sons also play ngoni alongside him. His albums Jama Ko and Miri both hit number one on the World Music Charts Europe, and his 2024 collaboration with Sacko, Djudjon, topped those same charts too.