Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto

Intimate interplay by masters on the West African harp and accordion.

In the past twenty years, Ablaye Cissoko has become one of the most highly regarded players of the kora, the West African double harp. In doing so, he sings entirely in the tradition of the 'griots' or storytellers from whom he descends. In 2023, he started a special collaboration with the French accordionist Cyrille Brotto with the album Instant. 'A gem,' according to Songlines Magazine. 'The accordion adds a melancholic, almost Celtic undertone to Cissoko's elegant arpeggios.'

Now the duo presents the album Djiyo, which means 'water' and sounds exactly like that: like a connecting stream. A beautiful mix of kora, voice, and accordion.

The Senegalese Ablaye Cissoko previously formed a surprising duo with trumpeter Volker Goetze, with whom he made three albums. He also collaborated with, among others, Randy Weston, Eric Bibb, and the Constantinople Ensemble. Cyrille Brotto specializes in the diatonic accordion and has been a familiar face in French folk music for years. As a duo, they link South French folk and the Mandingo tradition from West Africa.

Ablaye Cissoko kora/voice, Cyrille Brotto accordion