Sunday 12 November 2023 | 7:30 - 10pm | Lesbury Village Hall, NE66 3PP
When musicians Amadou Diagne and Cory Seznec had a chance encounter in a bar in Bath, they knew that one day they would record together. Thirteen years later, after many “touki” (“journeys” in the Wolof language), they embarked on a new musical adventure with a debut album “Right of Passage”.
After their chance encounter, Amadou put down roots in Bath, got married, had a daughter, recorded solo albums and continued to collaborate with other musicians from Africa and beyond.
Cory released a handful of albums with various projects, moved to Ethiopia for several years and travelled extensively before relocating to Paris and settling down for a spell with his family.
Then, with the support of an Arts Council of England grant, Amadou and Cory were able to come back together and realise their musical ambition to perform together following rehearsals in Paris and a recording session at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Somerset, their latest album ‘Touki - Rights of Passage’ was created.
Touki is a tour de force in multi-instrumental musical exultation, during which the musicians joyously switch between kora (West African harp), banjos, guitars, percussion and other instruments, deploying powerful beats, driving grooves, and silky voices that leap from East to West Africa and across to America. The influences are many, and rather than remaining in any one tradition, the Touki - the musical voyage itself - is the destination.
T: 07974 894888
E: [email protected]
W: highlightsnorth.co.uk/event/touki-right-of-passage/