Six years ago, the American guitarist, rapper and singer-songwriter Joe Driscoll first teamed up with Sekou Kouyate, one of the finest kora players in west Africa, at a music festival in France. They are still together, after playing hundreds of shows around the world, and creating a confident, engaging fusion of their very different styles. Their second album is a classy, easygoing affair, with Kouyate’s exquisite kora work and fine, soulful vocals in the Susu language matched against an often laidback, funky backing and melodic English folk-pop balladry and rap from Driscoll. Songs such as Just Live and Rising Tide are potential African-pop crossover hits, helped by bass, drums and percussion, with lyrics stressing Driscoll’s cheerfully inclusive philosophy that “we’re all one tribe”. They end with a reminder of why Kouyate has been called “the Hendrix of the kora”, with a furious live reworking of Stevie Wonder’s Master Blaster.
