NEBA SOLO AND BENEGO DIAKITE – A DJINN AND A HUNTER WENT WALKING

Description

A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking brings together Neba Solo, master of the Senufo balafon, and Benego Diakité, a leading voice of the Wassoulou donso n’goni. Co-produced by Nick Gold for his Etoile Audio imprint with Ousmane Haïdara and Sonny Johns, the album marks the first in a series of collaborations with Nonesuch Records.

The project grew from the pair’s chance connection during sessions for Oumou Sangaré’s Seya. Hearing their spontaneous interplay, Gold and Haïdara encouraged them to explore further. Solo arrived with a custom balafon tuned for an extended bass range, while Diakité brought his deepest n’goni; the resulting sessions captured the distinct character of two neighbouring Malian traditions rarely heard together.

The CD edition includes The Complete Sessions: one disc of ensemble arrangements with vocals, percussion, strings, guitar and mellotron, and a second presenting the duo alone, recorded under a mango tree in Bamako as night fell and crickets sounded around them.

Celebrated in Mali as musicians’ musicians, Neba Solo and Benego Diakité step forward with a richly textured collaboration that honours lineage while forging its own path.