Ba Cissoko is a Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

n world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

 band, featuring four members, two of which are playing the traditional Kora harp

Kora (instrument)

The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...

. The other two band members play percussions and bass, respectively. The sound of the band has been described as "West Africa meets Jimi Hendrix".

Members

The band is named after the lead singer and electronical Kora player, Ba Cissoko, the nephew of the kora maestro M'Bady Kouyaté. Band members include Sekou Kouyaté also on kora, bass player Kourou Kouyaté, both Ba Cissoko's younger cousins. In addition, the band includes Ibrahima Bah on percussions.

• Ba Cissoko: Lead vocal, Kora
  Kora (instrument)
  The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
  
  , tamani
  Tamani
  Tamani is a small town and commune in the Cercle of Barouéli in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 14,858....
  
  

• Sekou Kouyaté: Kora
  Kora (instrument)
  The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
  
   (acoustical and electrical), vocal

• Kourou Kouyaté: Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , bolon, vocal

• Ibrahima Bah "Kounkouré": Calebasse, djembé
  Djembe
  A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
  
  , crin, congas

History

Ba Cissoko was created in 1999 with just three members. The last member is featured on the recent album release from 2009 called Séno. The band toured the UK supporting acclaimed Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n musician Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti

Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....

 in 2007.

Sekou Kouyaté's can with his electronically enhanced Kora harp produce a sound somewhat similar to that of fast guitar tapping, partly helped by the nature of the instrument. The new sound has earned Sekou the nickname of "Jimi Hendrix Africain", due to Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 style riffs.

External links

• http://www.marabi.net/ba_cissoko/musi.htm - The official site for their first album, Sabolan, featuring a musical preview.
• http://www.ba-cissoko.com/ - official site.