With this first chapter of Homeland, Seckou Keita takes us on a musical journey; the whole thing is a beautiful, buoyant celebration of life and place.
Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita has long been a killer collaborator, not least working with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch on three sublime albums, as well as a host of musicians on The Lost Words: Spell Songs and his Pan-African Projects, a venture that led directly to this album. Unsurprisingly, Homeland is peppered with guest artists, and the whole thing is a beautiful, buoyant celebration of life and place that was recorded in the UK, Germany, Belgium and Senegal and contains vocals in English, French, Mandinka and Wolof. The very spirit and scope on display epitomises Seckou’s approach to music as an art form with its arms thrown wide, inviting everybody to connect with it.
Seckou packs a lot into these twelve tracks and thirty-five minutes, resulting in a lean and sharp set with nary a dull moment. There is a lot to unpack here; Seckou is a generous musician, and with Homeland, he treats us to many cultures, sounds and musical styles. A point of note, however, is that at the beating heart of the album is the kora, a West African harp-lute whose origins date back to the 13th century and possesses a rich, bright sound, made by plucking its 22 strings (apparently, it’s almost as challenging tuning the instrument as delivering music on it).
Having been born into the griot tradition (a West African bard or storyteller) and trained by his grandfather and uncles from the age of seven, it is fitting that Homeland begins and ends with pieces in the griot style. Bienvenue opens the record with a beautiful, complex kora part with spoken word in French from Mandinka Culture preserver Abdoulaye Sidibé’s low, rich burr. From here, the kora leads us straight into Home Sweet Home, an altogether more modern song, with soaring, multi-layered vocals alongside drums, piano and, at the midpoint, a brief rap from the Daara J Family. This melting pot of styles shows us what Seckou is about on this album; his world is interconnected.
The piano joins the kora at the core of songs like Nay Rafet, combining traditional-sounding drumming with urban rhythms and early Coldplay-esque piano chords. Similar in style is Ni Mala Beugé, a fast-paced song with a kicking beat that gets your foot tapping.
Far simpler in musical structure but equally bold in artistic endeavour are the two spoken word pieces, Reflections and Deportation Blues, with writers Zena Edwards and Hannah Lowe respectively providing vocals. Reflections is a powerful miniature built around a quite beautiful solo kora part and a moving train recording. Zena’s clear, expressive voice works wonderfully with the kora’s strings, delivering a heartfelt tribute to life and home. The piece is over in less than two minutes but stays in the mind far longer. Deportation Blues is equally strong; Hannah’s voice almost cracks in places, which adds emotion to a narrative that uses repetition (‘he has six children / three under five’) to very effectively add gravitas. It’s an audacious play including such strong tracks in the set, but it pays off splendidly, with both pieces working well independently, as well as accentuating the feeling behind the more upbeat songs.
These songs are the overwhelming flavour of Homeland as a whole, which is a hugely positive-sounding album with beautiful and dynamic music radiating from it. What is particularly clever about the balance of sound is that the kora is always there and never sounds out of place, which in turn gives the music a cohesion and fluidity that could easily be lost with a less discerning touch.
Towards the end, Wakili comes in as a hooky number with an infectious chorus and takes us into the final track, Kibaro. Like Bienvenue beginning the album, this one bookends it with Abdoulaye Sidibé’s vocal over a sharply plucked kora line. Beautifully simple and less than two minutes in length, this is a high point of the whole set, and when the sounds of the tide come in to end it, you’ll be ready to spin it again. Ultimately, Homelands is a hugely entertaining and quite emotional celebration, both of Seckou’s native Senegal and his adoptive UK. The album packs so much into its run time, but it never feels forced or too busy; the sound is unashamedly upbeat, and the music throughout is beautiful. The character of the sound is very different to the work Seckou does with Catrin Finch, for example, but the spirit of the kora is present throughout, and the whole album is impeccably produced, with a very generous booklet included with physical copies. It’s clear from this wonderful first chapter that Seckou is here to take us on a musical journey and it’s one I would urge you to join. Music this joyous and full of pathos is irresistible.
Homeland (Chapter 1) – 18th October 2024 – Hudson Records
Pre-Order: https://hudsonrecords.ffm.to/homeland
SECKOU KEITA & THE HOMELAND BAND TOUR 2024
24/10/2024 – Southampton – Turner Sims
25/10/2024 – Salisbury – Wiltshire Music Centre
26/10/2024 – Shoreham-by-Sea – Ropetackle Arts Centre
27/10/2024 – Milton Keynes – The Stables
28/10/2024 – Bury St Edmunds – The Amex
30/10/2024 – Nottingham – Metronome
31/10/2024 – Sunderland – The Fire Station
02/11/2024 – Sheffield – Foundry
03/11/2024 – London – Koko
06/11/2024 – Kendal – Brewery Arts Centre
07/11/2024 – Leeds – Howard Assembly Rooms
08/11/2024 – Manchester – The Stoller Hall
09/11/2024 – Bangor – Pontio
10/11/2024 – Liverpool – Tung Auditorium, Yoko Ono Lennon Centre
12/11/2024 – Bristol – SWX
14/11/2024 – Dendermonde – Cultuurhuis Belgica
15/11/2024 – Bornem – CC ter Dilft
16/11/2024 – Zaventem – CC De Factorij
17/11/2024 – Sint-Niklaas – Cultuurcentrum Sint-Niklaas
19/11/2024 – Ternat – CC De Ploter
20/11/2024 – Brugge – CC Brugge Stadsschouwburg
21/11/2024 – Brussels – C12
Tickets and more details: https://www.seckoukeita.com/live