15 May 2012

BEIRUT: “I am discovering Lebanon, playing music with Zeid,” said Guinean musician and composer Kandjha Kouyate, “and discovering the shawarma.”

Born to a family of musicians, Kouyate met with Lebanese composer and music impresario Zeid Hamdan in 2006 at “Kora and Chords Festival” in the Guinean capital Conakry. He and the 24-year-old kora-player were meant to perform together, Hamdan explained, but Kouyate was unable to make it.

Kouyate and Hamdan met on stage 48 hours later. The vibe was so good during their on-stage debut that the duo decided to collaborate on a new album.

The resulting record, “La Guinee” (Guinea), blending Kouyate’s compositions with Hamdan’s musicianship and studio smarts, was released in 2009. The CD takes its listeners on a colorful musical journey over a landscape shaped by a wonderful mix of kora (Kouyate’s 21-string West African instrument), guitars, electronic arrangements and vocals.

Both Kouyate and Hamdan said their record sprang from spontaneous inspiration, that it took them only two days to write and record the songs on “La Guinee.”

“Music should be shared,” Kouyate said. “It should be done with love.”

The kora, he explained, “is an instrument passed from father to son,” one that is traditionally played during sacred events. Kouyate has tried to “modernize” the kora by pairing it with non-African instrumentation.

“La Guinee” is comprised of a short introductory track and 11 songs – some in the language of Guinea, others in French. All the tracks blend traditional Guinean music, hip hop, reggae and electro. The lyrics address such subjects as family and imprisonment as well as more personal ones – like Kouyate’s hometown.

The album’s mingling of musical cultures, originality and passion takes the listener on a sentimental journey from joy to sadness, as well as from anger to admiration.

Although the language of Guinea is unknown to most Lebanese, the music is more welcoming than the language is alienating. The kora’s gentle voice evokes ritual song with an intimacy that invites the listener to discover something new.

Most interesting to hip music aficionados will be the way “La Guinee” mingles musical genres. The record veers among hip hop, reggae and traditional West African music, weaving a one-of-a-kind patchwork of musical arrangements which will speak to a wide range of listeners.

Kouyate’s voice has an impressive range, at once crystal-clear and deep, evoking (to a Western ear) an enchanting, mystical quality – as though he were working to hypnotize his listeners.

Hamdan accompanies Kouyate on guitar, vocals and electronics, which effectively modernizes the traditional sound of kora.

Conservative listeners who are suspicious of the term “electronic” have nothing to fear from Hamdan and Kouyate’s sound: This collaboration of two outstanding musicians defies the expectations evoked by such labels.

The kora-player is in Lebanon to record some tracks for a new album project with Hamdan, but while they’re together in town local audiences will have an opportunity to listen to the fruit of their collaboration.

This Thursday evening the duet will perform a one-night stand at Hamra’s Democratic Republic of Music. It will provide Beirutis a rare opportunity to to discover the beautiful voice of the kora and the musical world the musicians are able to build around it.

Kandjha Kouyate and Zeid Hamdan will play at Hamra’s DRM on May 17. For more information, please call 01-752-202.

Copyright The Daily Star 2012.