Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate are an unlikely duo. Joe, who grew up in Syracuse, New York and moved to Bristol, England, speaks no French. Sekou, who grew up in Guinea, where French is the official language, speaks no English. When they met at a festival in Marseilles in 2010, they relied on music to communicate. Joe raps, loops, beatboxes, and writes songs. Sekou, known in France as the Jimi Hendrix of the kora, plays the West African harp like no one else. Together, Sekou and Joe blend hip-hop, spoken word, funk, and soulful rock and roll with Afrobeat, reggae, and irresistible African grooves. The World Music Report calls their debut album, Faya, “spectacular,” “sublime,” “brilliant,” and “perfection.”
Sekou was raised in an accomplished musical family in Conakry, Guinea. Trained in the ancient traditions of the kora, he has toured the world as a member of the Ba Cissoko band, comprised of his cousin and brothers. Cee-Lo Green calls Joe “the gangsta with an iron lung.” Joe has been touring for years, spreading his unique fusion of folk and hip-hop. He uses live looping to create soundscapes full of beatbox, guitar, harmonica, percussion, and whatever sounds he can find. For an evening of exciting, energetic, and thought-provoking music, catch Joe and Sekou at the Freight!
Sunday, May 24, 2015, 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm) Freight and Salvage, Berkeley,
2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-2020 / [email protected]
