Kondi Band - Salone

The Guardian 60

(Strut)

Transatlantic dialogue takes a new twist on this collaboration between a Sierra Leonean thumb pianist and a North American DJ. It’s a heartening story. Sorie Kondi is a blind street musician from Freetown, a one-man band with few assets beyond a string of cassette releases and a website, which is where DJ Chief Boima came across him. A remix of Sorie’s Without Money, No Family ensued and led to this collaboration. Boima’s touch is light, adding discreet beats to Sorie’s tumbling melodies and rich voice, finding parallels between West African folk and US house. The songs are tough social cameos, the mood infectious. A winner.