27 f 12 shots from the fRoots Rocket Launcher a dozen leading questions to fire at Seckou Keita
If you were given the funds to organise a concert bill, who would the artists be?
Wow, if I had the opportunity I would love to cover all the genres of music I like. To name but a few… Neil Finn, Lokua Kanza, Ismael Lô, Toure Kunda, a duo of Martin Simpson and Tony McManus, Richard Bona, Alicia Keys, Bobby McFerrin, Youssou N’Dour, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic and maybe myself if I’m allowed to play?!
Which totally obscure record do you most treasure and would like more people to know about?
Habib Koita’s album Ma Ya, which is really great. I listened to it when I became a father for the first time so it had added significance for me.
Also Francis Cabrel’s Je t’Aimais Je t’Aime Je t’Aimerai. I played this on my Walkman headphones in Senegal wherever I went. I had a crush on a French girl back in ’94 but I didn’t want to tell her, I just played her the song.
What was the best live gig you ever saw? Actually there were two, at the
Womad Festival 2011: Aziz Sahmaoui & The University Of Gnawa, and The Creole Choir of Cuba.
And what was the worst?
I saw one this year in Scotland when the singer was so excited to be on the bill she kept talking about how happy she was to have been invited. She talked for over ten minutes and meanwhile the band were playing trying to drown her out. She kept doing that and then asking the band to repeat the songs so she could sing them. I ended up going to the loo and never returned.
What was your own best ever gig?
Montreal Jazz Festival with a top crowd, and Sydney Festival where, from the first number to the end, it was so mag- ical that nobody wanted to leave the place… a circus group was due to come on stage after us and they kept telling us to play another song.
And what was your worst?
Last year I was on holiday in Senegal when my album Miro went to No 1 in the European World Music Charts. To celebrate, the director of the Alliance Franco-Senegal - aise in Ziguinchor wanted to organise a show. Had a great sound check with my band and at showtime a full house, but I had massive feedback all night from my kora so I spent 90 minutes standing in one place to avoid it whilst the hall was dancing their socks off. It was almost like holding back a bad smelly fart in public!
What’s the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
The Bantamba Syndicate for the BT River Of Music 2012 featuring eight African nations in my show at the Cultural Olympiad. It was hard work communicat- ing with different languages and styles, with only a few days of rehearsal. A great musical achievement and very proud of it.
What’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did in public?
I’ll save that for the next edition!
Which song or piece of music would you most like to have written yourself?
Redemption Song – I love the words and wish I could have delivered that mes- sage with such a voice like Bob Marley.
Who was the first musician or singer you were inspired to emulate?
Singer Sory Kandia Kouyate, and Richard Bona.
Who was the last-but-one musician or singer you lusted after?
Not sure about answering this one…
don’t want to get in trouble at home… in fact it wasn’t a singer or musician but a tennis player…
If you had a rocket launcher, who or what would be the target, and why?
Well, the rocket itself as they are not good for the planet – so I would launch them all to get rid of them unless they could be used to make people happy.
Seckou Keita is currently on tour with Catrin Finch, launching their new album Clychau Dibon.
www.seckoukeita.com F
root salad
Photo: Judith Burrows
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