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Ba Cissoko’s Electric Griot Land
A modern take on African tradition
Paris
18/04/2007 -
RFI Musique: How did you go about recording your new album, Electric Griot Land?
Ba Cissoko: We spent a week rehearsing in Marseilles, a city that’s been like a second home for us over the past ten years. Then we went off and worked in a studio in Brussels for a fortnight. We slept there, too, which meant we were able to work right through the night when we needed to. Our debut album, Sabolan, was basically a transposition of what we’d proved live on stage. The album was a bit of a calling card for us and it worked – thanks to Sabolan we’ve ended up performing all over the world. But things were a bit different this time round. A lot of work went into post-production on this album and we put a lot of thought into choosing the material, too. I think there’s a lot more variation this time. Electric Griot Land is a lot calmer, a lot more pop - and at times a lot wilder, too!
The album features a lot more guest stars, too. Was that your idea?
Tiken (Jah Fakoly) dropped in to see us in the studio. We’ve known Tiken since we met him at the RFI Découvertes Awards organised in Bamako in 2004. The idea of him guesting on one of our songs dates back to then really and it was our producer, Marc-Antoine Moreau, who arranged the whole thing. It was Marc-Antoine who suggested the other guest artists on the album, too. Singers like Les Nubians, Amadou Bagayoko and K’naan have all brought their own special touch to the album, complementing what we do. Not only do they all fit in really well with our musical identity but they tie in with my basic idea for the project which was to get our sound to evolve in the studio.
And how did you go about composing the material for the new album?
Well, what happens is I compose the music first, but then the other members of the group all throw in their ideas. I’m always open to suggestions because at the end of the day this is all about teamwork. We listen to one another, exchange ideas and work together. And it’s the same when it comes to the lyrics – the songs are either based on personal experiences or they take a much wider view of things, tackling topical global issues.
I was going to mention the fact that on a song like Africa you seem to take much more of a committed stance than usual…
That’s true. On the new album I think I’ve addressed a certain amount of recurring problems in Africa and brought up the idea of the pan-African dream that’s never come true. You’ve only got to take a look at the current situation in Guinea! Only the other day my cousin, Kourou, who’s the bass-player in the group, got stopped by the police and he ended up getting beaten up and having everything he had on him stolen. It’s things like that that have made me want to bear witness to what’s going on. I was there when it happened. It all took place right in front of me!
I think I have a certain duty to act because I’m able to go in and out of the country and say what I like even if I haven’t exactly got a reputation for being a protest singer. But the simple fact of the matter is that I can’t just wipe day-to-day reality from my mind. I bring up other issues on my album, too. There’s a song called Silani where I talk about the problems caused by money. Whether you’ve got money or you haven’t, it’s always a source of conflict. There are songs about female issues on my new album, too, songs like Women and On veut se marier (We want to get married). The first song’s a simple tribute to women, but the second one’s about an experience I had in a café one day. I was sitting there minding my own business when I overheard this discussion this group of young women were having about what bad husbands musicians made. They were going on about how musicians were always ungrateful and always away from home. This song is a sort of musical riposte to them!
I notice you also pay tribute to your grandmother on your new album…
Yes, I do. She’s the one who raised me in the Koundara region where I was born. When I was a little kid my grandmother used to take me to the fields with her and as we walked along she’d give me this personal music lesson – she would always be singing whatever she did! It was my grandmother who gave me solid foundations in life and, believe me, if you don’t have solid foundations in life it’s impossible to shine. One thing I’m certain of is that without my grandmother, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
There’s another track, Adouna, where you sing about bringing the experience you’ve acquired in the wider world back home and using it to improve things there…
Yes, exactly. That’s something I’m a strong believer in. I started an international kora and string festival that we’ve just organised for the second time. And I opened a cultural centre back home in the Taouyah neighbourhood in Conakry. The centre’s called Wakili - the word for courage in Sousou - and believe me, it does take a bit of courage to launch something like that in Guinea given the current economic situation. Even though I’ve managed to get a few subsidies from Nuits Métis, an organisation based in Marseilles, most of the money came from my own personal finances and donations from my family. My uncle, M’Bady Kouyaté, one of the great memory banks of the griot tradition, is also involved in the project.
The aim of the Wakili centre is to develop local cultural projects and to initiate young people and adults in the kora, teaching them how to play the instrument and making them aware of what a rich tradition we have here. We also organise dance and drama lessons at the centre with renowned teachers such as Ibrahima Sory Tounkara. And the great thing is it’s all free! The Wakili centre also allows us to organise regular concerts and artistic residencies for musicians.
What do you think about the craze for electronic music currently sweeping the big towns and capital cities in Africa?
Hip-hop is a style of music that really speaks to the youth of Conakry. And we’ve acknowledged that, organising hip-hop projects locally even though, unfortunately, we’ve had a few problems with the neighbours. We’re certainly open to influences like this but you have to realise that at the moment there’s another big youth movement going on geared towards delving into tradition and reappropriating certain elements to mix with modern sounds. Coupé-décalé is really big right now. But while I think it’s great fun to dance to I think musically speaking it’s actually pretty poor. It’s nothing like as good as the stuff the big groups were doing back in the 70s and 80s!
And what about the title of your new album, inspired by the late great Jimi Hendrix?
Electric Griot Land is obviously a reference to Jimi Hendrix, a musician whose sound just hits you in the guts every time. But the reference actually works on a more subtle level, too. While the title obviously points to the saturated sounds and special effects on the kora, it’s also a way of letting people know that our tradition is capable of evolving and moving with the times. It’s a bit like Hendrix actually who came from a blues background. That’s the way I see world music anyway. I’m a firm believer in working with other artists on joint creations. I don’t want to put any kind of blinkers or barriers on things. You know, we’ve just recorded a cover of a U2 song for a compilation that’s coming out in the U.S.!
And what future projects do you have up your sleeve?
Well, I’d like the next album to be a purely acoustic affair – the way we play things back home in the village!
In concert at Le New Morning, in Paris, on 17 April (organised in collaboration with RFI Musique)
Jacques Denis
20/03/2009 -
