Fasiya

Sona Jobarteh comes from a long line of Mande griots, but, in a big break with tradition, she is the first female kora virtuoso.  Fasiya is her first album, and does a lovely job of merging her traditional griot heritage with Western sounds (she studied cello, piano and harpsichord at the Royal College of Music.) Even the instrumentation strikes a perfect balance between tradition and afropop sounds, with Jobarteh’s kora, Juldeh Camara’s buzzing ritti (a one-string fiddle), and Baba Galle Kanté’s elegant Fulani flute underpinned by thumping bass and drums, and interlaced with Jobarteh’s own acoustic guitar and Sankung Jobarteh’s flowing electric guitar.