Bassekou For Union Chapel

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba
Thursday 20 March 2014, Union Chapel, 19:30
Tickets £22
barbican.org.uk.

Grammy Award nominated ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate will return to London with his band Ngoni ba after the sell-out success of Sahara Soul, the tribute concert for Mali and its rich musical traditions hosted at the Barbican in January 2013.
In recent years Bassekou Kouyate has single-handedly propelled his instrument – the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa – onto the international stage, combining tradition with new playing techniques and breaking into previously unexplored jazz, blues and rock territories.
Bassekou Kouyate has been the first world music artist to sign with American record label Sub Pop – home to bands like Nirvana, Low and Mogwai. At the Union Chapel concert as part of the Barbican’s contemporary music programme in March, audiences can experience material from his third album Jama ko, which was produced by Arcade Fire alumni Howard Billerman. Recorded during the coup d’etat which took place in Bamako, Mali in March 2012, the record documents a musician determined to carry his message forth amid a climate of oppression. Ngoni ba also features Kouyate’s wife Amy Sacko on vocals and sons Madou and Mustafa Kouyate.

Tickets are on sale to Barbican members from Thursday, 24 October and on general sale from Friday, 25 October. Barbican Box Office: 0845 12 7511 / barbican.org.uk.