TOUKI: Amadou Diagne has centuries of West African music at his fingertips. Cory Seznec is a musical wanderer and uncertified ethnomusicologist. A chance encounter while busking in Bath planted the seeds of a collaboration that’s been fermenting now for over a decade.Thanks to support from Arts Council England, those seedlings have shot up into the light as Touki.
Their new album, Plastic Man – recorded at the legendary Real World Studios with American violinist/cellist Duncan Wickel and produced by Oscar Cainer – focuses on climate change, environmental activism and spiritual matters, weaving together West African fables, personal stories and large social, economic and political questions facing our world. The photography for the album, taken by Italian photo-journalist Giulio Piscitelliin the Libyan desert, harks both to the continually unfolding human tragedy of displaced populations, and the plague of plastic pollution.
Touki’s sound infuses East and West African styles and traditions with Appalachian banjo, folk motifs, and orchestral arrangements. Powerful percussion, muted guitar-picking, and cello-grooves provide a rhythmic foundation, while vocals, kora and violins add beautiful texture and emotional depth.
On the road, Touki performs as a trio with French strings wizard Marius Pibarot.
“Scintillating…the sequel to Ali Farka Touré & Ry Cooder’s Talking Timbuktu, revisited and enriched with unique kora-banjo-acoustic guitar combinations of a rare elegance.” -Rolling Stone France
Doors open 7pm. Music starts 8.30pm. The venue is mixed seated and standing. Tables are limited, and available on a first come first served basis, so if you’d like a seat, we recommend arriving early!
