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Senegalese musician Diabel Cissokho is part of the great line of Cissokho jèlílua jèlí (plural, jèlílu) is a bard, loremaster, and praise-singer in the Manding areas whose functions are story-telling, speaking about lineages, singing and playing music as he
want and hear it... Read more.. Growing up in Dakar, surrounded by a rich musical heritage and a musician family, Diabel began playing various traditional instruments. However,
Diabel’s affinity with the kora was clear from his early age.
Diabel’s musical pedigree is exceptional. International tours with his family’s band Bannaya led him to a long
stint as Baaba MaalBaaba Maal is well-talented as multi-instrumentalist and singer gifted with a high piched and impressive voice... Read
more.’s kora player, as well as with acclaimed musicians such as Kandia KouyatéKandia
Kouyate is a very famous singer women coming from Mali, world wide known, - since she was a a child, she was indeed a “legend” ! ..., Pee Wee Ellis, Nuru Kane, Daby Balde, Omar Pene and Abdou Diop. Now well established in the UK,
Diabel’s virtuosic talent, “resonant voice and rocking kora style” (Songlines), have been welcomed everywhere from WOMAD and Glastonbury to London’s Barbican, where he
performed alongside Femi Kuti, Cheikh Lo and Manu Dibango.
Diabel’s success with bluesman Ramon Goose cemented his reputation as a versatile musician, able to effortlessly
cross cultures. Their album Mansana Blues was lauded as “a flavoursome mix of slide guitar, mellow kora and undulating Mandinka rhythms” (fRoots) which
“delivers moments of steamy pleasure” (Songlines).
A 2010 European tour culminated in the DNA Culture Project with Ramon, Robert Plant guitarist Justin Adams, Gambian riti
player Juldeh Camara and bassist Julian Joseph at Dakar’s renowned venue Just4You.
Diabel’s upcoming album marks a return to his roots. Recorded in the UK and Dakar and featuring members of his own
family, the album draws on Diabel’s rich musical heritage, blending beautiful Mandinkan melodies with an upbeat West African groove. Tambacounda Express is an album
that draws on the eclectic mix of cultures that pass through the region where Diabel was born, Tambacounda in Senegal. The result is a rhythmically, lyrically, and melodically diverse collection of
songs with strong roots in the blues, alongside the traditional Mandinkan melodies of his griot ancestry.
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Diabel Cissokho & Ramon Goose, Mansana Blues, © 2010 Dixiefrog |
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Diabel Cissokho, Kanabory Syama, 2012 - © & (P) World Village Uk |
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Diabel Cissokho, Niayelé, 2015 - © & (P) Diabel Cissokho |
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Diabel Cissokho, Tambacounda Express, 2016 - © & (P) World Village Uk |
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Diabel Cissokho, Rhythm Of The Griot, 2019 - © Kafou Music Records |
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