Moh! Kouyaté - Horizonte Festival

Moh! Kouyaté
Perhaps you’ve already seen him
performing in the US, England, Australia,
Hungary or in Paris. Moh! Kouyaté, always
elegant in appearance, adorned by his
charming presence, embodies a unique and
talented style of guitar playing inspired by the
Mandingo tradition, Blues, Jazz and Rock.
Even before releasing his first album Loundo,
Moh! Kouyaté has enjoyed a long career…
He was first coached traditionally by his parents and uncles in Guinea.
All of his relatives were deeply engaged in the musical life of Conakry. Forming
part of the griot’s dynasty since the 13th century, the learning of music has
forever been sacred to the Kouyaté family. Moh!’s father encouraged him to
play at an early age, and taught him his first chords; Moh!’s grandmother
bought him his first traditional guitar in the local market.
Moh! instinctively followed the masters of Guinean music: the Bembeya Jazz
leaders, Sékou “Diamond Fingers” Bembeya, the authentic Syli, Kouyaté Sory
Kandia, and also Ousmane Kouyaté, Salif Keita’s
principal guitar player. In just a few years Moh! made
remarkable progress and garnered himself the
reputation of one of the most talented and up and
coming Guinean guitar players.
An introduction to George Benson’s album
Tenderly by the great Amadou Diallo drove Moh! to
mine inspiration from other techniques; those of
Django Reinhardt, Santana, BB King, Ben Harper, Jimi
Hendrix. At night, Moh! lit up the Guinean capital night
life scene with his band, Conakry Cocktail. The band’s
fresh and original musical styles were clearly inspired
by Joe Zawinul.
In 2004, while Moh! was performing at the US embassy, he met Corey
Harris. Fascinated by West Africa, Corey had already travelled to Mali with
Martin Scorsese and Ali Farka Touré for the motion picture From Mali to
Mississipi. The following year, Corey invited Moh! to join him on a three month
tour of the US. It was in the vastness of the US that Moh! discovered the deep
links between the Blues and its West African roots. The Mississippi delta guitar
players clearly evoked the evolution of the original music
In 2007, Moh! settled in France and met other afro-jazz musicians.
There, he enlarged his circle of musical, artistic and personal contacts with the
likes of Ba Cissoko and Fatoumata Diawara,
amongst others. Moh! began performing in a quartet in cafes and venues all
over Paris and beyond, extending throughout Europe. In addition to his many
artistic projects, he began composing his first album, Loundo (one day), a rich
compilation of all the different artistic experiences he gathered from Africa, the
US and France. The album includes rich musical encounters & collaborators
such as Piers Faccini, invited by Vincent Ségal on the delicate song Gassata,
groovy and electric titles like « T’en vas pas, ça va pas ! » composed for a couple
of friends in crisis, broadcast in full on national & international radio stations
like Radio Nova, RFI and Africa n°1 FM.
Moh! Kouyaté is anchored in and inspired by both traditional and pop
music. This is the truth of his musical identity. Combining the traditional
Mandingo genre and afro beat on Yarré, or the funky song Yéllé, singing in
Soussou, Malinké, Djahanké, Pular or French, Moh! speaks about happiness,
life’s drama, exile, everyday uncertainties in Guinea, struggle and hope. In the
song Loundo, a gentle rock ballad, Moh! expresses his own vision of life:
perseverance, patience and motivation must surely lead to positive things. If
you keep up the fight and remain enthusiastic, you will ultimately achieve your
goals. This long awaited day has finally arrived, and it belongs to Moh! Kouyaté!