Kady Diarra - Burkina Hakili

2021 release

Sometimes, a creation from the contemporary world conceals some of the greatest treasures of the human soul. Between millenary tradition anchored in a territory and globalised modernity, Burkina Hakili is a melting pot of humanity. Few albums contain so much cross-energy: the fibres of the same fabric from which the great Kady Diarra is made!

For her third opus, she invites her family around a long common history rooted in western African continent, mixing artistic, spiritual, linguistic, political elements and much more... Kady carries within her a mixed and complex culture, which quintessence can be found in Burkina Hakili...

... "The spirit of Burkina" embodies the spirit of Kady Diarra. A country whose name bears Thomas Sankara's political and moral struggle, who called for pan-African solidarity as much as for union between all the oppressed peoples of the world. Cultural openness and humanist unity are fundamental in the Burkinabe spirit as expressed by Kady Diarra in four different languages, from her native Bwaba to French, including Bambara which is the majority language in this area.

At the heart of this region and throughout this new album resides the Diarra family's Bwaba country. "When you hear Bwaba, you hear jazz," says Kady, who wants to convey the complexity of Africa. If much has been said before about her remote "griots" ancestry, it is a simplistic reinterpretation that overlooks the noble and spiritual dimension of "niamakara", this caste of artists weaving a complex social bond. Kady finds her inspiration in her genealogy, but also in her personal background of multi-artistic training (singing, music, dance and comedy) and strong political commitments.

The fruits of this work on the past, the present and the future are to be found in a garden in the Ardèche, in 2020 spring lockdown. In this special context, Kady has counted on her people to produce the pieces she has been carrying within her for the past ten years. For this, she brings together her nephews moussa Koita (bass, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals...), Samba Diarra (percussion, flute, backing vocals...), Mabouro Diarra (n'goni, balafon, percussion, backing vocals...) but also her daughter Assetou Koita (backing vocals) and an old accomplice who is an ardent supporter of African music: Thierry Servien (guitar).

The result is impressive as he manages to unite a very strong intellectual dimension and a sense of celebration that also runs through his entire work. In "Sou" (the night) is the spirit of trance that awakens in joy to celebrate the end of the day and the beginning of the space of possibilities... "nata" denounces the ravages of money with a hymn in which the strings are intermingled... "mousso" increases the rhythm to celebrate African women with a groove in the pure Bambara tradition.