Every month, the music critic Sophia Fanen (@SophianF on twitter) shares her 5 current obsessions.
Rosalia, Candy, taken from the album Motomami (Columbia Records, 2022) see the clip
Silvana Estrada, Te Guardofrom the album Marchita (Glassnote Music, 2022) see the clip
Gonora Sounds, Go Bhorafrom the album Hard Times Never Kill (The Vital Record, 2022)
Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul, Blendafrom the album Topical Dancer (Deewee/Because Music, 2022) see the clip
Ray Barretto, Togethertaken from the soundtrack of the documentary summer of soul (SonyMusic, 2022).
Then we receive Yohann Le Ferrand for the album release Yeko (Back2Bam prod).
YEKO means “The way of seeing…” in Bambara. This series of musical portraits, initiated by Yohann Le Ferrand, brings together around his guitar 6 featurings from West Africa for colorful collaborations. Yeko is a unifying album from two continents, Europe and Africa. With : Khaira Arby, Kandy Guira, Mamani Keita“Tina” Salimata Traoré, Mylmo, Koko Dembélé.
Contrary to the identity withdrawal that marks our time, the cultural fusions of YEKO between the North and the South, are created naturally. Each performer comes with their personal story and their sincerity in singing it. Thus their strong vocal identity was able to fully embody the compositions of Yohann Le Ferrand. The process of creation was nourished by the energy of ancestral cultures while registering in the register of current music. Thus, kamelengoni, cello, funky guitar, Fulani flute, incisive brass instruments, ethnic percussion, gospel choirs, Tuareg violins intersect…
About titles:
Yerna Fasse. It is an incredible opportunity to reveal here the last recording of the living voice of Timbuktu. Khaira Arby bowed out a few months after this exceptional collaboration. Both pop and very funky, Yerna Fasse grabs us from the intro. The trance of the percussions of the desert, the riffs of brass and the Fulani violin carry an effective chorus of which only traditional music has the secret. In an angelic voice, she gives us this ultimate opus to sing a unified Mali in peace and sharing between ethnic groups.
Dunyait is the great sensitivity, humility and accuracy of tone that characterize the magnificent “Tina” Salima Traore, have naturally embraced this track for an almost meditative world-pop journey. Best known as a dancer for Toumani Diabate Where Salif Keita, Tina was the backing vocalist on Rokia Traoré’s last tour. The extreme softness of this voice supported by the lyricism of the cello, immediately charms the ear and touches beyond the words in Bambara which express life on earth and the trials which make us grow during this passage.
Yohann Le Ferrand is a composer/arranger, recently seen on guitar with Tiken Jah FakolyYohann Le Ferrand also performs across Europe in the piece “Kirina” by the choreographer Serge Aime Coulibaly and with Rokia Traore to musical direction. Following his collaboration with Koko Dembele for the film “N’gunu N’gunu Kan” by Soussaba Cissehe will be invited by the singer Inna Modja to accompany him as a duo to the United Nations headquarters in New York. Since his beginnings in traditional Breton music, he has forged a musical identity with Afro-American music which will naturally bring him to Africa. Eternal traveler, this encounter with mother earth, the roots of all his influences, will refine his musical language in organic compositions with afro funk pop hues where the acoustic texture always has this universal inclination. Solicited for many artists or projects (Kandy Guira, Mamylove Sarambé, Kinyonga…), this YEKO project is the true culmination of an atypical musical personality.
Titles played
– Yerna Fasse feat. Khaira Arby see the clip
– Konya feat. Mamani Keita see the clip
– Dunya feat. Salimata “Tina” Traore see the clip
– Doussoubaya feat. Mylmo.