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Rokia Traoré

+ Randolph Matthews

,Barbican Hall
Rokia Traoré making nice shapes with her hands

Seamlessly combining guttural Rap with fragile soprano, Rokia Traoré showcases her distinctive musical language as she performs music from her latest release, Né So.

Né So translates to home in Traoré’s mother tongue Bambara, and it is this thread that runs throughout the album as she reflects on issues both personal and political. Recorded in a mix of Bambara, French and English it is a stunning but sombre piece of work that considers her own nomadic life and the turmoil that has beset her home country of Mali. What shines through is an artist with a determined mindset and a boundless desire to experiment. Performing with her tonight is Cuban singer and band leader, Daymé Arocena.

Traoré has been a regular at the Barbican in the past and has always produced performances to remember. Over six records, her music has drawn deeply from Malian traditional music as well as referencing a vast array of genres such as Jazz, Rock and Chanson. 

Support comes from English singer-songwriter Randolph Matthews.

Tagged with: Contemporary music

Presented by AGMP

Part of Innervisions Festival

‘The most adventurous African artist around strikes gold‘
MOJO
‘Africa’s most inventive singer-songwriter‘
The Guardian

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