Citizen of the world because of his status as a musician and Parisian at heart, Moh ! Kouyaté shares his vision of a new Africa. In Fé toki, his music inspired from the African continent is connected to the whole planet. He knows through his American and European concert tours that his music is a gift for getting message accross.
In this new album, his voluble guitar takes us through a profusion of styles. Riffs soukouss on “Dobogna“, solo ndombolo on “N’deymayo“: the dancers on the stage jump in a Congolese style. Spacious melodies from Nenouna, a tribute to the heroes who worked and sacrificed themselves to make a better world for millions of Africans, develop into symphonic rock. Yet, no doubt that it is from Conakry, a cosmopolitan capital city that the singer draws inspiration. Sang in soussou, in malinké, in diakhanké, three languages nourish the rich culture of his home town. Moh’s songs continue the epic tales of music from Guinea in the wake of Sékou Bembeya Diabété, known as « Diamond fingers » or others like Sékouba Bambino.
Enchanting chords from Fé toki follow the footsteps of Mandingo blues. From the banks of the Niger river to the Mississippi delta, the redeeming fate of this universal music gives back to the freed descendant from Africa their right to speak. Eyewitness to the marks left by segregation, he reinforces his link with African-American music which today is an important part of world culture. The revival of Africa seems like a self-evident fact.
A journey in the heart of the Mandingo culture, Mayouama recovers the prestige of an art which has become mature within seven centuries. With Tala, both guitar and n’goni, subtle and punctilious, provide solutions to the migrants in search of an asylum land. Even if he gets inspiration from the rumours in the world, Moh ! Kouyaté never departs from the wisdom of a griot (djéli) whose function, transmitted in the family, aims at uniting the Mandingo society.
The message from Fé toki shows that it is a matter of opinion in our globalized world. Work, sharing, success or gossips, let relativity guide our judgment, our action turn towards positive purposes. Moh ! Kouyaté gives us unambiguous words while entertaining us with his magnificient music.
François Bensignor
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INFORMATION
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mohmusic/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/veev-com/sets/moh-kouyate-fe-toki
Video clips: Vivons de l’Amour , Fankila
