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Interview

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Las Cruces Sun-News, Interview >>

One of the world's most visible African artists, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba (the big ngoni), will perform April 15 at the Rio Grande Theatre, part of the Associated Students of NMSU Cultural Series.

Kouyate is a leading proponent of the Malian ngoni, a flute-like instrument found throughout West Africa and has collaborated with a number of Western musicians, including U2 and Carlos Santana.

His collection of ngoni players are on a North American tour to promote the band's new album, "I Speak Fula," (Sub Pop!) which is similar in sound to an American blues record.

Kouyate, who speaks little English, answered the following questions via e-mail with the help of a translator.

Q: How would you describe the ngoni?

A: The ngoni is a kind of lute: One of the instruments that you read about as having been played by the ancient Egyptians and so on.It has probably been played in West Africa for over a thousand years, and today it looks like a long oval resonating bowl, covered in animal skin and with a post at one end that supports strings


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that are plucked and from sounds that then resonate in the bowl. Long ago the resonator was made of a calabash, like the banjo which probably developed from the ngoni, and now it is made of hollowed-out wood that is more durable.

Q: What's your favorite song to perform live?

A: The one that has given all of Ngoni Ba huge pleasure is "Jonkoloni" because it is part of our Bamana history, tells a story and ends up in an irresistible dance. The song relates events after a ruler in the Ségou area was warned by soothsayers that all would be well, unless he allowed a black cat into his capital.The song describes what happened when, one day, a black cat was spotted there. We love this song because it invited audience reaction and we always find it makes people want to move.

Q: The Las Cruces tour date is the near the end of a 50-city tour of North America. How do you plan to end the tour with a bang?

A: One of he biggest lifts we have had during this tour is the news that has just come through that the Kora Awards — Africa's equivalent of the Grammys — just named me the best African Traditional Artist for 2010.I feel this gives me something new to bring to the audiences we'll meet before we leave the U.S. I know it's just a title, but artists need this kind of recognition as proof that they are making contact with their audiences, so I hope it will inspire me to try even harder to make contact with U.S. audiences.

Q: Is this your first time visiting the United States? First time in New Mexico?

A: I first came to the U.S. in 1990 on an invitation from the state of Tennessee which had found that the ngoni is an ancestor of the banjo, and that Bamana music is clearly related to the blues played traditionally in the U.S., notably by Taj Mahal. When I arrived, there was an unexpected change in my travel plans and nobody knew to come and meet me, so I arrived without a word of English in a completely strange world. It was quite frightening to feel completely alone.Although we have traveled a great deal this time, and have really got to see the extent and huge variety of the United States, several of us have been here before, and we no longer feel complete strangers.

We started out this tour in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, before traveling around and coming back to Las Cruces, so we're not absolutely new to New Mexico and we're delighted to be back.

Q: Of all the places you've been on the current tour, what location most closely resembles where you are from in Mali?

A: What reminds us most of Mali are people, not the places.We have found that Americans, and especially young people, react just like Malians to our music, even if they don't know the tradition: It just makes them want to move around and dance.We've also noticed that it's the same for a lot of older Americans, too. We have been surprised by how many of them have come to our concerts and love to see them get moving, too.

Some of the country we drove through in the Southwest is dry and difficult to farm, and it reminded us of Mali, but while we work on small plots, growing mainly in the rainy season and keeping a few cattle, like some of the American Indian groups in New Mexico, you organize things differently with so much space and the techniques to keep big herds.

Q: What American food/custom will you be bringing back to Mali?

A: It's going to be very difficult to leave hamburgers behind, although they are already known in Bamako, like most big cities all over the world. It's not something you would normally eat at home, but we'll have to teach our families to make them.

Q: How does one say "great show" in your native language?

A: Tulonke nÿana kosebe!

Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5446

If you go

Who: Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

When: 8 p.m. April 15

Where: Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Downtown Mall

How much: $15, or $10 for NMSU faculty and staff, seniors and children, on sale at the Pan Am Center Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 782-2787

Info: (575) 646-1420 or myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

 04/07/10 >> go there
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