Habib Koite

CDN$16.98

"One of the most exciting emerging artists in Africa today. This album is a gem." - Afropop Worldwide

My way to play traditional music is to adapt the sounds of the traditional instruments from Mali through my acoustic guitar. In Mali, there are as many ethnicities as there are musical rhythms and styles. In other African countries, there is generally one predominantly popular rhythm-Senegalese m'balax, Congolese soukouss and Cameroonian makossa. In Mali, on the other hand, there are many popular rhythms.

This CD is like a musical voyage through Mali. I give myself the freedom to move from one rhythm to another. Over the years, I have played many popular African and Western rhythms and I finally decided to focus on Malian music. We have so many rhythms in Mali we do not have to play music from elsewhere. I feel this is something all African artists should consider; they just need to make an effort.