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Habib Koite : live around the world
Mali's Guitar Wizard On The Road
Paris
19/03/2004 -
As any touring musician will tell you, concert schedules play havoc with your personal life. Your family suffers from long periods of absence, friends bemoan the fact they only get to see you in the midst of a crowd and everyone's relived when you finally pose your suitcase and settle for a while. Showbiz, as Malian star Habib Koité recently found out, puts you in a strange frame of mind, one in which it's impossible to even think about working on new material. Playing and replaying the same old hits on stage every night can totally block the genesis of a new album, as Koité recently discovered. "It's not like you can't create because your inspiration's exhausted," says Koité, "It's simply that you're exhausted because you've toured so much. Everyone's got their own way of functioning creatively. And as far as I'm concerned, I think my creative imagination just doesn't work at full throttle when I'm on the road. When you get a break between two concerts you just want to have a rest, you know. And then there are so many other demands made on you when you're on tour."
And when you do get a break from that hectic tour schedule and finally head for home, you have to make up for all those months of absence imposed on your nearest and dearest. Not surprising then, that tapping into the musical muse post-tour is not always an easy business. "The time you get in between tours is just too short to get any kind of new project off the ground," says Koité, "I can start thinking about new material and coming up with ideas. But all I can do is jot the ideas down on paper or record snippets of songs on tape, then I have to put them away in a drawer until I have the time to sit down and work on things properly… As 2004 is going to be absolutely chock-a-block with touring, I can't promise there'll be anything new in the pipeline. I may have to wait until next year before I can even think about writing material for a new album."
As certain fans were already champing at the bit for a new Koité album, the guitarist recently decided to kill two birds with one stone and bring out a double live album, Fôly, to coincide with his tour. Pragmatic concerns aside, Fôly is actually full of genuine musical gems, offering fans the chance to hear a very different side to Koité's music. On the live album, Koité’s enduring hit, Cigarette Abana, really comes into its own, kicking off with a Congolese-style improvisation, then exploring Cuban son. "We're really having a good time on that track," laughs Koité, "There've already been three different versions of the song, in fact. We originally recorded Cigarette Abana in '91, but I've been playing the song live since '85. It's pretty much evolved over the years as there was a new version in '95 and then I re-recorded it in 2000 or 2001. The song now sounds really salsa. It's got a genuine Spanish flavour to it. The chorus is in English and there's a smattering of French in there, too. Then we go back to Bambara." In other words, Koité has enjoyed his live album to the full, taking every opportunity to indulge in what he calls musical "gymnastics." "This is really an album to make longterm fans happy," he says "It's for the people who've followed me from the start, for fans who've witnessed how each track has evolved on stage over the years. We wanted to capture those special moments on stage when everyone's on a real high, too."
Fôly gives Koité and his group, Bamada, the opportunity to share part of their latest journey around the world. And the album is a means of savouring not just Koité's prodigious guitar-playing, but the various musical personalities who make up Bamada, a group who have been playing together for over a decade now. Mixing the complex, urban sounds of "sono mondiale" with the wealth of secular Malian tradition, Bamada have created their own distinctive sound. And the group features some rare stars including Kélétigui Diabaté, Koité's virtuoso balafon-player, who is still going strong at the ripe old age of 73. "You really have to see him in action," enthuses Koité, "Words just can't begin to describe his talent. What this guy knows about music is truly immense. Imagine, he played with Lionel Hampton in '72 and Stevie Wonder in '82. He’s rubbed shoulders with the jazz greats. Kélétigui Diabaté is a man who absolutely has to be seen live on stage!" Or, if all else fails, listened to on this extraordinary double live album.
Koité is a generous musician on stage, not only giving freely to his audience, but also allowing his backing band to step centre stage and reveal their own genius. And this does not appear to be just a policy of stroking everyone's ego, either. "It could get really boring just being stuck in the role of accompanist all the time," says Koité, "I refuse to limit my musicians. I like to give them a bit of freedom, you know, really give them the chance to let their hair down on solos." Koité stands in the middle of it all on stage, the ultimate showman weaving his spell of "ethnic-sounding scales." His own guitar-playing is a veritable sight to behold, fingers flying faster than the speed of light as he holds the crowd entranced. While some praise the tranquil fluidity of Koité's style, others laud these aerial flights of acceleration, although all are agreed that Mali's guitar prodigy is a first-class act. "I think my approach with classical guitar has helped me get back to the sound of traditional Malian string instruments like the kora and the n’goni," Koité says modestly. Whatever the secret is behind his style, Habib Koité's live album cannot be recommended highly enough!
Soeuf Elbadawi
Translation : Julie Street
15/04/1999 -
