Abdoulaye Kouyaté feat. Gabi Hartmann et Popimane – Douniéma

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Abdoulaye Kouyaté – Douniéma feat. Gabi Hartmann and Popimane (Official Music Video)
👉 Listen to the single here: https://umanoia.lnk.to/Douniema

Versatile musician, contemporary traveling griot, Abdoulaye Kouyaté unveils his first album Fefanyi which will be released on June 14, 2024 by Reva Music. A virtuoso on the kora and guitar, Abdoulaye Kouyaté is a goldsmith of melodies and a singer with a hushed tone.

After years spent sublimating the music of the artists he accompanies with his guitar playing and the softness of his kora (Ba Cissoko, Mariama, Jain and Gabi Hartmann among others), Abdoulaye Kouyaté puts his creative energy into a personal project which looks like him.

Sometimes deep and touching, sometimes rhythmic and danceable, his mixed music oscillates between ballads, kora instrumentals and pieces with Afropop sounds borrowing their rhythm from the offbeat coupe, zouk or traditional yolé from Guinea. To discover with the clip of Douniéma and his guests Gabi Hartmann and Popimane.

Douniéma is an original mix of French song and Afro-pop based on Mandinka rhythms and from Reunion Island maloya. Sung in Soussou and French, the lyrics remind us of the need to forgive in order to move forward in life. The piece is enriched by the deep voice of Gabi Hartmann, Abdoulaye’s musical accomplice for many years, and by the clear and airy sounds of the Fulani flute played by Dramane “Popimane” Dembélé.

Following the path opened by his father Sekou Kouyaté, modern griot, respected guitarist and conductor of Miriam Makeba during his years of exile in Guinea, Abdoulaye Kouyaté shapes his guitar playing by listening to jazz, funk, reggae, Son Cubano or West Indian Biguine while giving it Mandingo sounds.

Abdoulaye Kouyaté entrusted the production of the album to Patrick Ruffino and is accompanied by Yannick Vela on bass and Nicolas Grupp on drums. The album is enriched by the valuable contributions of Fulani flute player Dramane Dembele, singer Gabi Hartmann, bassist Guy Nsangué, saxophonist Robbie Marshall, cellist Guillaume Latil, djembe fola player Dartagnan Camara and backing vocals from singer Djene Kouyaté.

This first disc, Fefanyi, displays astonishing diversity. Sung in Soussou (the language of the Guinean capital, Conakry) and in French, several titles are inspired by Abdoulaye’s romantic youth in Conakry in the 1990s-2000s. A time when he perfected his skills on the guitar by following the musicians of his neighborhood, hosted crazy expatriate evenings with his group at the Grand Hôtel Camayenne, and fell in love for the first time (Inondi, Doumedira, On fait quoi? and Nitanama in particular). Guinean carefreeness gives way to the jungle of Europe, adult life, responsibilities, the cold, and difficult learning. These life lessons notably inspire the pieces Douniéma (the grudge holder), Saré (everything at a price) or Inamakana (if you can’t help your neighbor, don’t push him down).

The song Fefanyi (the benefactor) which gives the title of the album takes up the tradition of the griots, from which the Kouyaté come, which consists of “singing the praises” of great men, generous benefactors.

Label: REVA MUSIC
Distributor: Rock’N’Hall
Featuring: Gabi Hartmann and Popimane
Musicians: Yannick Vela, Nicolas Grupp, Dartagnan Camara
Backing vocals: Djene Kouyaté
Director of the clip: Vincent Lassalle
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