Malian balafon player Neba Solo and donso n’goni player Benego Diakité have made their way to prestige Warner imprint Nonesuch Records for new album A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking. Nick Gold, former head of World Circuit Records and a longtime partner with Nonesuch, co-produced the album with Ousmane Haïdara and Sonny Johns. It's out in just a few weeks, just in time to soundtrack your Valentine's Day celebrations.
Solo plays the balafon, a marimba-like instrument, while Diakité wields the donso n’goni, a hunter’s harp. The two instruments rarely interact, for reasons explained in promo materials for the album: "Neba Solo is from Kenedougou, where the balafon was traditionally played in the fields to inspire farmers, and Diakité is from the nearby Wassoulou region, where the culture revolves around hunting." Haïdara and Gold first brought the two players together a decade ago while recording vocalist Oumou Sangaré’s Seya album. The producers encouraged further collaboration, which led to the sessions that became A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking.
The album features two discs. The first one fleshes out the duo's music with vocals, percussion, and the occasional mellotron, guitar, and strings; the second one features original live, unadorned performance recordings. Today Nonesuch has shared the new single "Seko" along with a live performance video. Check those out below along with the previously released album opener "Djinê Mogo Tiki."
TRACKLIST:
DISC 1: A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking
01 Djinê Mogo Tiki"
02 "Seko"
03 "Maa Kery"
04 "Yeredon Bali"
05 "Seko (interlude)"
06 "Hakilimaya"
07 "Kodonaw"
08 "Ba Ngolo"
09 "Nania Ba"
10 "Dankoro Ba"
DISC 2: A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking (Garden Demos)
01 "Ba Ngolo (Garden Demo)"
02 "Seko (Garden Demo)"
03 "Hakilimaya (Garden Demo)"
04 "Djinê Mogo Tiki (Garden Demo)"
05 "Maa Kery (Garden Demo)"
06 "Ba Ngolo (Balafon Solo)"
A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking is out 2/13 on Nonesuch. Pre-order it here.
