Kadialy Kouyate - Taling Dimala - Beautiful Tales

by Nicky Crewe

published: 6 / 8 / 2019

Kadialy Kouyate - Taling Dimala - Beautiful Tales

Label: Kadialy Kouyate
Format: CD

Kadialy Kouyate’s kora playing soothes the soul with its beautiful melodies and deep messages from the griot tradition of West Africa

Review

"This album is the antidote to negativity." The first statement on the sleeve notes sets the bar high and Kouyate’s music lives up to this promise. Interest in world music has brought griot and kora music to the fore. Toumani Diabate has worked with bluesman Taj Mahal. Seckou Keita and Catrin Finch have collaborated in recent years and are currently touring together, reminding us of the links between West African kora and Celtic harp. These links go deeper than the sound and construction of their instruments. Griots are the bards, the troubadours, the storytellers and archivists of their societies. They are the equivalent of the medieval European minstrel. Family traditions go back over hundreds of years and countless generations, creating an essence of virtuosity that is incredible to consider and wonderful to witness. Kouyate’s musical background is based in Southern Senegal though he now lives in the UK and tours the world. He collaborates with a range of musicians and in settings which take him way beyond an historic tradition. The tracks on this CD are all about love, thoughtfulness, celebration, dreams, respect and even greatness. Kouyate invites the listener to join him on a meditative journey, full of good vibrations. Kora is only one of the instruments in the griot tradition. For me it is one of the most beautiful sounds, melodic, relaxing, trance inducing even. Over the years I’ve found kora music both emotionally healing and spiritually sustaining and 'Taling Dimalu# takes me to a calm and positive place. This instrumental music washes over you, and it’s worth remembering that the apparent simplicity of sound and melody is in fact the distillation of generations of talented and dedicated musicians who are in constant touch with the true power of music and its vibrations. Music for our challenging times.