Kadialy Kouyate with Khyam Allami and Adriano Adewale

Kora player Kadialy Kouyate is a Mandinka griot (hereditary storyteller/ musician) from Casamance, south Senegal, he's a young virtuoso of the 21-string West African kora harp, who's immersed himself in the London scene (he might perform with a Caribbean steel pan player one night, a traditional West African group the next and a symphony orchestra the night after). On his debut album from last year he plays with an unusually light and jazzy cross-cultural ensemble.

There's a palpable buzz about the youthful Iraqi oud player Khyam Allami: he recently became the first recipient of the BBC Radio 3 World Routes Academy scholarship/ mentorship and performed at The Royal Albert Hall as part of this year's Proms. Born in Syria, to Iraqi parents, he moved to London at a young age, initially taking up the violin, before dabbling in rock and then dipping back into his Middle Eastern roots by studying the oud (he's got a degree in Ethnomusicology from London's School of Oriental & African Studies). The Sound Of Disquiet shows off his virtuosity to fine effect.

Adriano Adewale has played percussion with a whole range of visiting Brazilian and local jazz artists since moving to the UK from São Paulo, Brazil a decade ago. He's also performed with Modeste and features on Kadialy Kouyate's album. No surprise then that Sementes, the 2008 debut album by his group, features a slew of Brazilian, African and jazz influences.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Kadialy
• Kouyate
• Khyam
• Allami
• Adriano
• Adewale
• fRoots

[KrilaSounds]

@StephenLion2008 - Hello Stephen the Lion! I think the connection between these wonderful musicians is magic as well. They seem to have met at SOAS and been collaborating on an off. Normally you won't find this unless you go to Womad. Kadialy Kouyate is playing a few gigs, one of them tomorrow at the Relentless Garage in Islington. More listings at kksoundarchive com. Also check out Green Note in Camden. They have regular nights organised by fRoots which showcase fantastic music like this.

[StephenLion2008]

Wow West Africa meets North Africa via Brazil and it works it's magic on the sound scape of the UK, sheer brilliance, these young musicians should work more together, their music crosses all cultures and touched the heart, mind and soul of this barking Lion. Please play some dates in London. You all deserve to go far.........Magic..