Musicien malien (1965-2014), il est considéré comme l’un des plus grands joueurs de kora. Cet instrument de 21 cordes est constitué d’une demi-courge de large diamètre, recouverte d’une peau de chèvre fixée par des clous.
Collaboration avec Björk
Volta
- Kora : Hope
« She wanted everything to work naturally », Mr. Diabate said backstage after a recent concert with his Symmetric Orchestra at Zankel Hall. In Mali, he played and she sang, trying lyrics she had brought until the syllables fit and they had a few songs. She chose Hope and handed another one to him. « She said, ‘Take this and use it any way you like,’ » Mr. Diabate said. « I couldn’t imagine a superstar doing that. »
Hope ended up using a Timbaland beat and multiple, overlapping, tangled tracks of kora, traditionally a solo instrument. Mr. Diabate tweaked the results until he was satisfied. « She opened a new door for the kora », he said.
source : « At Home Again in the Unknown », NY Times - 29/04/2007
Concert
Björk a rejoint Toumani Diabaté sur scène à l’Expo 2008 à Saragosse en Espagne pour interpréter Hope et un titre inédit. Plus d’infos