Tanou

There are few more ancient instruments than Mali’s six-stringed, individually bowed n’dan, or ‘traveller’s harp’. Fewer still whose existence is under such serious threat from the dying off of the folk traditions and rituals associated with it, a result of Africa’s embrace of globalisation gathering pace. While its ‘classical’ sibling, the kora, is enjoying something of a renaissance, the n’dan seems increasingly reliant on Adama Yalomba to champion it. He puts it through its paces, showcasing its many virtues, in Tanou. That the title translates from the Bamanan language as ‘gratitude’ tells you what you need to know about this celebration of the instrument, of family, friends and heritage. Yalomba’s doubling of its strings to 12, adding tuning keys and animal skin over the instrument’s half-gourd body to serve as a soundboard is bold and bracing; proving you can super-charge the instrument while still sounding thrillingly authentic. Driven along by Yalomba’s vocals and playing, and Sékou Bah and Moïse Sagara’s rhythmically adrenalised bass guitar and drums, ‘Anbèsé’ surges out of the speakers as Tanou’s beating heart. Yalomba’s younger brother, Madou, sings on the questing ‘Akadi Dow Yé’ and joins Adama for a warmly lyrical duet, ‘Donsokè’, which pays tribute to a traditional donso hunter and cultural guardian.