Roundhouse, LondonThe Malian and French musicians switch their kora and cello from lead to rhythm in a show of stunning musical intuition
They begin as they plan to continue, with an exquisite, hypnotic late-night meditation. A gently rippling solo on the kora, the west African harp, gives way to collaboration with cello. Then the cello takes over, with the strings first plucked and then bowed, as the kora now eases back to provide accompaniment to the melody. This is the title track from Chamber Music, the debut album from Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Ségal, released in 2009 at the start of what has proved to be one of the great African-European partnerships.
Seated next to each other on stage they may look an unlikely couple, but they have a similar history. Sissoko, who wears a blue robe, is a griot, and master of the 21-stringed kora. Like his celebrated and equally adventurous cousin Toumani Diabaté he has learned the ancient Mandinka styles, the classical
music of west Africa, but is keen to experiment. His last solo album Djourou included a collaboration with a French
Rapper, and a jaunty reworking of Berlioz. Ségal, who wears a dark suit, is a classically trained cellist who became a celebrity in
France improvising with a punk-influenced drummer in Bumcello.