Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Faya
Artist: Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate
Album: Faya
Label: Localization Records
OUT NOW
Rating: 4/5
Joe Driscoll has teamed up with Sekou Kouyate for Faya their first collaboration together which sees them tackles genres of music from around the world.
Believe me when I tell you that you will have heard no other album like this all year - and while it may not be your taste I urge you to give it a listen.
American musical influences and South African sounds combine for this record and it all kicks off with Tanama - which is one of the best tracks on the album.
Tanama really is just like a jam session with some really tight kora playing and it really is a catchy instrumental piece.
Driscoll is known for tackling issues with his music and lyrics and in Passport the songs looks at immigration and boarder control issues.
But don’t for one second think that this is gloomy track as it couldn’t be further from the truth as there is a reggae feel to the track and it really is full of life.
Faya is the title track and there is a Blues sound to this track - it really is a bit of a gem. The kora licks and Driscoll’s quick firing rhyming makes the track very atmospheric as Kouyate and Driscoll’s musical styles well and truly meet.
Girl sees Driscoll replace the old school hip hop that we heard on Mixtape Champs with the fantastic kora. This is a track that is full of energy and rhythm and is another gem.
The album may not last much over thirty minutes but it is half an hour of some of the finest free and easy music of 2012.
It is great to see such different music perspectives come together in such harmony - this really is one of the best collaborations of the year.
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate - Faya is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw