Electric kora from Sekou Kouyate

WOMAD 3

I think, when heaven was invented, 'angel's harp' was a mistranslation of 'kora'.

Traditionally the kora was reserved for Mandinka jali (griot, praise singer, bard) families (Diabate, Cissokho, Kouyate, and others) with the musical skills and cultural responsibilities passed from father to son. The huge advantage (to me) of African traditions being eroded by travel, recorded music and globalisation is that it's easy now to find really skilled musicians playing this stunningly beautiful, versatile, 21-stringed cross between a lute and a harp. I've heard it played in many ways and many places, the best probably being in heaven itself - under a spreading tree in a cool courtyard on a warm Dakar evening. But until this weekend I had not heard the unlikely pairing with rap.

Despite sharing very little spoken language, Sekou Kouyate from Conakry and Joe Driscoll from New York had the most brilliant and infectious time communicating through music. The only recording of them together that I can find doesn't do them justice, but they are releasing an album in November which I hope will recreate some of the WOMAD sound.