The Lift Global Music Club

Seckou Keita Quartet

with DJ Stan

14th June 2008

The Globe, 144 High Street West, Glossop

8.30pm till Late

£10 in advance, £10 on the door

Picture copyright Judith Burrows

With a massively successful touring history and critically acclaimed album under their belt, the Seckou Keita SKQ are proud to announce the release of their new studio album ‘The Silimbo Passage’, alongside an eagerly anticipated extensive UK tour, kicking off in May. The tour showcases part of the ongoing evolution of their unique sound that derives from the group’s heart - Seckou Keita himself.   

The Seckou Keita SKQ are one of the fastest growing, independent bands du jour, captivating audiences from Montreal to Manchester, Sweden to Senegal. Their forthcoming album is already garnering international attention as the band has received an ‘Honourable Mention’ in the Instrumental category at the International Songwriting Competition. The Seckou Keita SKQ possess a unique ability to touch every one who experiences their sound, making it easy to see how they are amassing fans worldwide with their captivating, contemporary music.

 Hailing from Senegal, Italy, Egypt and The Gambia, this multi-national band are an exciting fusion of culture and experience. Counting Richard Bona, Bela Fleck and Bobby McFerrin amongst his influences, Seckou Keita leads the quartet with his experimental tunings and virtuoso kora playing (a West African stringed instrument likened to the harp or the lute). His charismatic personality is portrayed through his unique improvisational playing, supported by the double bass/electric bass of Davide Mantovani, the eclectic percussions of Surahata Susso, the distinguished sound of the violin by Samy Bishai and enchanting voice of the gracious Binta Susso - the newest addition to the band, turning the quartet into a quintet!

 Distinguishing Seckou Keita from other world musicians, is his very own inimitable tunings, making him one of the most innovative and creative known kora players in the world today. These new tunings are showcased on SKQ’s latest album ‘The Silimbo Passage’, which creates a fresh sound and shifts SKQ into a music category all of their own.

 Championing ‘eco-friendliness’ through CO₂ Balance UK, SKQ are minimising their carbon emissions and offsetting their unavoidable CO₂ residue by produced all their material on recycled paper or paper from sustained forests. By offsetting emissions the band have been able to donate money towards East Africa Energy Efficiency and contribute to tree planting in the UK.

 With continuing funding from Arts Council England, the band have added a number of key dates to their tour, including a eagerly anticipated support slot to the Grammy-award winning Miriam Makeba, favourably known as ‘Mama Africa’ at the Brighton Festival which celebrates her 75^th birthday! Other exciting dates include the Guardian Hay Festival, and London’s revered Jazz Cafe, as well as planned gigs in Italy and Japan later this year.

"Seckou Keita is a brilliant live performer with stacks of charisma, and one of the few champions of the less-known and rhythmically rocking kora repertoire from Casamance in southern Senegal where he is from. His quartet brings a whole new perspective to these powerful songs, teasing out their rich polyphony with subtlety and joy." Lucy Duran

"Keita's vocals, passionate and melodic, add an element to an
already inspired recording."  Dirty Linen

  "Seckou Keita, an inspired exponent of the kora can make the West African harp-lute sound like a small band."  Guardian

Link to Seckou Keita Quartet