At last the legendary Moussa Kouyate gets the recognition he deserves.
‘After the release of Kora Blues in 2004 with slide guitarist Kevin Brown, Moussa Kouyate (known as The Bristol Griot) returns with another collaborative album, this time working with trumpet player David Mowat and a wider ensemble to bring together kora, trumpet and concert harp. The kora and harp pairing is not new – Seckou Keita and Catrin Finch have famously already explored the combination – but it works well here. On ‘Soundioulou’, the cascading harp motifs and kora underpin softly spoken vocals, while ‘Abraham’ sets Kouyate’s low voice against Mowat’s higher, more virtuosic trumpet lines, often reminiscent of Ibrahim Maalouf’s style, adding in a contemporary jazz element. ‘Atlantique’ introduces a Latin-leaning feel, continuing to gather momentum with the percussion on ‘To My Mum’. The final track, a spoken-word reprise of ‘Soundioulou’ from Mowat’s perspective, is a musical account of the collaborators’ meeting, but while undeniably complementary, the language risks sounding somewhat ‘othering’ in places. While some of the instrumental tracks in the middle blur slightly into the background, Tumultuous Journey’s strongest moments are the songs featuring Kouyate’s vocals; his deep, gentle voice grounds the pieces, giving a clear focal point to the music that sits well among the other instruments.’
Please check out the album here https://davidmowat.bandcamp.com/album/tumultuous-journey
The album was made with Emmy Broughton on concert harp, Paolo Adamo drums, Federico Leonori double bass (thus with me, David, we were the BEJE trio as with Yunmi and Sangyeon) Suntous Susso on djembe – now a rising kora star- and Jimi Cantera contributing in production and with guitar.
