Habib Koité est un chanteur et guitariste du Mali. Devenu en quelque temps la coqueluche de la scène bamakoise et internationale, ce guitariste talentueux ne néglige pas pour autant le répertoire traditionnel.

« Alors que de nombreux artistes africains ont choisi de se lancer à la Conquête de l'Europe et de l'Amérique du Nord en métissant leur musique de sonorités occidentales et que d'autres s'activent à perpétuer la musique traditionnelle de manière rigoureuse, Habib Koité s'est choisi une voie bien à lui : à la fois imprégnée des traditions de son pays et bien inscrite dans son époque.

Tout au long de sa carrière forte de trois albums et d'innombrables concerts autour du monde, Habib Koité a su développer un jeu de guitare bien à lui dans lequel on pourra déceler tout autant des influences de chez lui que celles d'autres styles musicaux comme le blues ou même, ici et là, quelques touches de son cubain ou de flamenco. On trouvera également dans sa musique un échantillon du riche instrumentarium traditionnel malien comme le tamani, le balafon ou le n'koniLe nkoni est un luth de la tradition mandingue classique à 4 cordes à l'origine. C'est l'instrument roi par excellence de la musique classique mandingue... Lire la suite.

Mais c'est surtout sur scène que se révèle le guitariste virtuose issu d'une lignée de griots.

http://www.contrejour.com

Muso Ko	1. Muso Ko (Woman) 2. Den Ko«Denko» est une chanson fort populaire dans les pays de tradition mandingue. Dans cette chanson, en forme de berceuse, les chanteurs évoquent tantôt les joies, la bénédiction (Densoro), tantôt les soucis et les malheurs de la maternité (ou de l'impossibilité d'avoir un enfant)... Lire la suite. (Talking of Children) 3. Nanale (The Swallow) 4. Sira Bulu 5. Nimato (If You Don't Stop) 6. Cigarette a Bana (Cigarette Is Finished) 7. Din Din Wo (Little Child) 8. Kunfe Ta (The Gutter) 9. KoulandianKulandjan est un chant fondateur très célèbre du Manding, du Mali en particulier... Lire la suite. 10. Fatma [bonus track] 11. I Ka Barra [bonus track]
Ma Ya	1. Wassiyé 2. Maya 3. Bitile 4. Sirata 5. Foro Bana 6. Sarayama 7. Kumbin 8. Mara Kaso 9. Pula Ku 10. Komine 11. I Mada 12. Manssana CisseCet air est un chant éponyme. Il a pour sujet principal un certain Massana (littéralement «grand seigneur») Cissé... Lire la suite.
Baro	1. Batoumambe 2. Kanawa 3. Wari 4. Sin Djen Djen 5. Cigarette a Bana 6. Woulaba 7. Baro 8. Sambara 9. Roma 10. Tere 11. Mali SadioMali Sadio est une chanson, tirée d'un conte populaire, qui date du début du XXe siècle. Dans le village de Bafoulabé (Mali), entre une jeune femme et un hippopotame se créa un lien particulier... En savoir plus. 12. Takamba 13. Sinama Denw

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Habib Koite is a singer and guitarist from Mali. Even since he became a international star, this well-talented guitarist does not neglect traditional Manding repertoire.

Habib Koité of Mali was born one of 18 children into a long line of griots, traditional African storytellers, but his verse in the family history would take a modern turn.

Like the guitar he plays, Koité bridges old Africa and the contemporary West. He tunes his electric guitar to an African pentatonic scale and uses nylon strings for a softer, rounder timbre; it's a distinctive sound that is reminiscent of the old world without being wholly in it. "Traditional music is everywhere," he said of his homeland. "It never disappeared." But, he added, he also was exposed to music from the variety of radio stations in Mali when he was growing up. "Every city has five or six stations," he said. So, he heard African music imported from other countries as well as American rock, soul and pop.

His upcoming shows in this area are the latest stops in an unrelenting touring schedule. During a recent interview from Belgium, Koité said he is on the road seven or eight months out of the year, taking him around the world several times since he first toured outside Africa in 1994. While the heavy touring has spread the word about his music, it has held up the creation of a new album, which would be his first since "Afriki" in 2007. "I'm too much on the road [to make an album]. I don't have the time to sit and think about new songs."

His band, Bamada, is also a surprisingly comfortable blend of rock band and village players. The band includes such traditional instruments as the wooden xylophone-like balafon, the kamale n'goni, a kind of 4-stringed lute, and the variable-pitch tama "talking drum"; all seamlessly blended with a drum set and electric bass. Koité and Bamada create an effervescent, lively groove that leans toward the jam-band corner of the rock universe - the music has a gentleness though that doesn't undercut the propulsion of its hypnotic rhythms.

Although Koité's father was from a griot family, his day job was in railroad train repair, so Koité was actually born in Senegal, where his father worked on a railway line. He grew up listening to his mother sing both at home and at special occasions and he eventually taught himself guitar and accompanied her. Koité had decided to go to school for engineering, but an uncle convinced him to study music instead at the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali's capital city.

From the earliest stages of his professional career, Koité has distinguished himself by playing a pan-national sound, taking elements from regional music across Mali. After winning a music contest, he was able to pay for recording a song, "Cigarette A Bana" ("The Cigarette is Finished"), which became a west African hit. That lead to his first album, "Muso Ko," and then the even more successful follow-up, "Ma Ya," both of which scored highly in the European world-music charts. In 2003, he released a two-disc live album, "Foly!" documenting his energetic live shows. He is open-minded about the diverse musical landscape in which he grew up, particularly since many Malian musicians pigeonhole themselves by their home region's styles. "I grew up with everything and try to play everything."