Bassekou Kouyaté and his band Ngoni Ba transported the audience in the Howard Assembly Room to their home of Mali on Friday night. Kouyaté radically changed the way in which the ngoni is traditionally played by electrifying the instrument and subjecting it to distortion and modulation.

Keeping a traditional vibe – every song is sung in Malian and all instruments used are from Malian origin, and Kouyaté brought the traditions a new lease of life.The result is beautiful and powerful and more rock’n’roll than you’d expect. The African rhythms resonated through the intimate venue captivating the audience and the band’s performance was vibrant.

The flawless harmonies echoed in the great acoustics of the small venue. The solo ngoni riffs were astonishing and the sound of this African lute resonated with ease. The mixture between traditional rhythms and new technology on the ngoni created a dazzling combination that sends shivers down the spine.

All the songs from Ba Power were played as expected but hits from the last album Jama Ko were also added to the set. Songs such as ‘Jama Ko’, ‘Musow Fanga’ and ‘Abé Sumaya’ gave the performance a warm, poignant and powerful atmosphere. The strong sound of Ba Power is the result and evolution of Jama Ko.

After chatting with Bassekou Kouyaté, he briefly explained that he was going to revisit the roots of the blues for his next album, after this performance it’s an album not to be missed.

Samantha Cabral