Band On The Wall
Manchester
15/02/24
To witness N’Faly Kouyaté in performance is akin to putting bubble-bath in your hot, celestial jacuzzi, for the experience is pure fluffy cosmic vibrations. His band consists of N’Faly up front, sometimes singing, sometimes singing while playing the stunning-looing kora instrument with clear virtuosity. I mean, he is the actual president of the Festival International de la Kora, so that should show his kudos.
N’Faly, former front man of Afro Celt Sound System, was this time was join’d on stage by a lady & a gentlemen, & together they create something other than music, something special, unique, wonderful. Indeed, he proclaim’d himself to be a bard, which is in essence the custodian of human culture & remembrance, & which is then return’d to his listeners as musical numbers.
In between these songs N’Faly gives us interesting introductions, with the overall effect of being re-introduced into the family of humanity. A ‘Ré-Génération’, perhaps, which just happens to be the name of the new album he is touring, which he describes as ‘a captivating fusion of AfroBeat, AfroTrap, AfroPop, AfroRap & RnB’ – all the Afros, & is at once & the same time cutting edge modernity & as ancient as the first human noises made south of the Zambezi.
To witness N’Faly in the recently refurbish’d ‘Band On The Wall’ in Manchester was nothing but a sheer delight. Their tour here in the UK is coming to a close, but they’re not going too far away – to Brussels in Belgium, in fact – & I just know at some point in the coming future I will avail myself of the opportunity to catch this maestro & his gang of very cool musicians once more.
Damo Beeson Bullen
Mumble Music 