Blog of Sound

Seeing Abdoulaye Kouyaté at the Old Blue Last was truly an experience that I am unlikely to forget for a long time. Listening to the band’s rhythm and snappy leads being uplifted by punchy vocals and the masterful playing of the electric guitar was truly eyeopening. When he came on stage with a Kora (a 21-string instrument) I was instantly captivated as to how it would sound. After listening to Abdoulaye bring forth a melody that gave such a rich sense of history through his skill of play, my curiosity about how his music had come to be was piqued. Throughout the set you could tell just how much the band was feeling the music they were playing. Bopping and nodding along, on numerous occasions Abdoulaye closed his eyes while playing, giving the audience insight into how much the music he was playing was captivating him.

Alongside this, the bass and drums held the rhythm of the music expertly and gave such a calming, happy sound. To put it into perspective, when Abdoulaye started playing, the audience were all seated on the fringes of the room but when he had finished, they were all up and dancing. I had not even originally planned to interview him, but after the performance I decided quickly that I needed to know more. Thankfully, I was able to speak to Abdoulaye after the set with the help of Yannick Vela (his bassist) translating, which is written below:

Q1: Where would you say your musical influences are from?

A1: Traditional music from Guinea.

Q2: How long have you been playing for?

A2: 30 years.

Q3: How did you form your band?

A3: I found good friends with whom I started a band with and we have been playing for more than 10 years together.

Q4: How did you come to play the Kora?

A4: I was taught by my father to keep the tradition in our family and when my father was sick on tour in Europe, I stepped in to play instead.

Q5: And what did it mean to you to play the Kora in place of your father?

A5: It was a great privilege.

Though the language barrier definitely hemmed the depth of the conversation we had, not to mention that he was juggling fans wanting to buy his album, it was great to speak to him. Learning more about Abdoulaye, I delved into his father’s legacy and found out that Sekou Kouyaté had invented the electric Kora at the age of 12, which was absolutely mindblowing! Reading through the lyrics of his recent album Fefanyi it takes us through stories of love, careless freedom, some hard lessons and most importantly positivity. The song Fefanyi (of which the album is named after) is translated as ‘The Blessing’ and at the live show we enjoyed a raw guitar version of the song. You can see how his history and skill have been influenced and molded by his life, and paired with traditional Guinean music, he produces a truly unique sound. I can only hope that I hear more music that broadens my horizons like this did, so please consider giving him a listen.