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Kora by Sekou and Adungu by Adungu Cultural Troupe
Written by oliviawallwork
Once in a while, we happen to come upon something very musically special at one of the many ventures of us at Abubilla, and this one comes from Milly. Whilst dressed as a clown backstage at a German festival, she bumped into Sekou, a lovely man and an uber-talented kora player. He plays alongside Joe Driscoll and together they make the most beautiful, funky music; ‘a mad fusion of afrobeat, hip-hop, folk, and reggae, that defies any simple tags or description.’
What makes this all the more special, and close to our hearts at Abubilla, is their ability to speak through music, combing their heritage and styles; “He doesn’t speak any French, and I speak no English… but through music, we understand.” Sekou Kouyate. At Singing Wells, this is one of the core themes of our Influences sessions. Here, The Adungu Cultural Troupe perform with Akello with the adungu – a similar sounding instrument to the kora played by Sekou – and show their ability to communicate through music to form something incredible.
Although the adungu and kora have their similarities, in that they are both African harps held away from the body, the kora generally has more strings (usually 21 strings, 10 of which are played by the right hand and 11 by the left) and can be tuned to major, minor or lydian modes.
It is traditionally played by Jali families and the players, referred to as Jali or griots, are typically male – though female players are increasing, with Sona Jobarteh being the first celebrated female kora player.