Seckou Keita
Malachy O'Neill talks to Bristol-based Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita.
Seckou Keita 's music has taken him across Africa and Europe, and at present the master kora player and drummer finds himself based in Bristol. Bringing his music to the people is not just what he does, but who he is. As the son of a Cissokho he was brought up in a Senegalese griot tradition that stretches back to the 13th century.
It was by no means a foregone conclusion that this would be Seckou's destiny. His ancestors on his father's side reach back to Mali's founding king, Sundiata Keita , and it is highly unusual that someone from this background should become a musician. Seckou was brought up by his Senegalese mother though, and it was through her that he inherited the music, learning to sing and play drums and kora from the age of three.
A griot is not simply a performer however, but someone who occupies a complex and important role in African society, as Seckou explains: 'Griots are present at weddings and naming ceremonies, and they're also counsellors, talking between the king and his people. Sending messages all around through songs and through music. They're more like journalists, if you want to put it like that.'
With a cultural legacy 800 years old to be taught, a young griot's education is understandably long and demanding: 'Anybody can pick up a kora and try to compose a song,' says Seckou, 'but we all come from a background where we have to have a rigorous traditional training, learning songs from the 13th century, and the way they've been played over a long long time. None of us can escape from the tradition.'
Which begs the question: 'Did you ever want to escape?' Seckou's response is immediate, and spoken with a strong conviction: 'Tradition is an everyday thing. My grandparents used to sing about what they were seeing day to day, and I do the same now, but with this background behind me. I don't want to run away from it and I'm not going to run away from it because I know how important it is for me.'
I ask if the movements of African people over recent years to every imaginable part of the world have changed the work of a griot at all. Seckou replies that he still sees himself as doing very much the same work as his grandparents, but in a bigger society, and with greater possibilities: 'Now my mission and the mission of my family is to take the kora as far as it is possible to take it.'
Back in Africa, and particularly in Senegal, perceptions of what a griot is and does have changed very little: 'The griot is known as someone who plays and sings and makes people participate. For instance if a griot has a problem and ends up in the police station, they're going to be asked for their family name. Suppose they've been caught stealing and they're from a griot family, people will turn around and say 'hang on a minute, a griot doesn't steal, a griot sings and plays.' But that doesn't happen over here.'
That's not to say that Seckou's music is only for his community. Although he sings in Mandinka 99% of the time, the music is there to be enjoyed by everybody, regardless of where they come from. Seckou says: 'Some people don't even know what I'm singing, but the emotion of the music helps them, and brings a lot of peace and happiness. This is the way I see it working. I don't know who's coming to a concert but I see them get out of their chairs and dance. Maybe later I find out that someone has a deep problem that has been sorted out by hearing this kind of music. I've seen this happen three or four times now.'
Seckou's work also takes him into schools, introducing African music to English children, as well as running 2-week workshops for tourists in Senegal twice a year. Since arriving in England in 1998, having spent a couple of years in Scandinavia with his renowned uncle Solo Cissokho , Seckou has been involved in various different projects. He was a member of Baka Beyond , and in 2000 released a solo album, Baiyo . Last year this was re-released by Arc Music under the title Mali . More recently, he has been performing with Jalikunda , a word which translates as 'House of the Griots', a group comprising Seckou and four other members of his family.
Seckou has been keeping busy then, especially with touring. And he's in no doubt that everyone who comes will enjoy themselves just as much as he will: 'We want to get people to come so they can have a great time, whether they're listening or dancing. It's up-tempo music, and it's music to listen to. But I couldn't talk about the music without talking about dancing because the dancing is always in my head. Even on my own with the kora, I just want to dance with people. But when you see me play up on the stage and you see me smile, it's not just 'Hello I'm here, I'm performing', but it's the feeling I have with the music. It's my medicine, at home, onstage, everywhere...'
Listen : Sakiliba taken from Mali (Arc Music, 2002)