In their first ever performance in Kampala, the young musical couple, Maher and Sousou Cissoko, left their fans craving more of their music.

Fresh from their 2013 Sauti za Busara performance in Zanzibar, the duo entertained their audience with their afro/folk repertoire at the MishMash Centre in Kololo on February 22.

The sentimental vocal and instrumental traditions from Sweden and Cissoko’s energetic West African style are presented in a beautiful and touching way.

They played Allah Alkhe, a popular song in West Africa, with the message that everything was created by God and everything happens for a cause.

The menu also included Aline Sitoe Diata, Sunkotou Njiima, Yaay, Come Closer, Jaliya Kouta, Doole and Bamba — a song that praises the man who fought against French colonialism.

The guest performance was by Joel Sebunjo, who led the vocals on his songs titled Miniyamba and Toumaranke.

Sousou played the kora, rhythm guitar and vocals, Cissoko played the kora and vocals, Pape Samory Seck was on the djembe/sabars, Johan Magnus Jansson on drums and Andreas Unge on the bass guitar.

“Most of the songs we played today are our own compositions, which are quite different from the traditional repertoire. We do this in order to look different,” Cissoko said after the concert.

Cissoko and Sousou’s magic emanates from the unique musical heritage that is traced back to the different worlds and musical styles that they share. They both share a love for a particular instrument – the kora — that defines the history and heritage of the griot in West Africa.
Cissoko was born, and grew up with music as a member of a large, well-known griot family of Casamance in southern Senegal. He has embellished the tradition and developed his own danceable style of kora playing.

Sousou grew up in southern Sweden surrounded by music. She fell in love with the kora, when her father was playing with the griot Alagi Mbye from Gambia in the early 1990s.

Alagi decided to start teaching women and therefore accepted Sousou as his student. As a young adult, Sousou travelled to Nema Kunko in Gambia to learn more about the tradition of the kora.

In 2004, Sousou and Cissoko met through their love of the kora (and with a little help from Cissoko’s brother) in Senegal and together they decided to move to Sweden. They are married and have a daughter, who performed on their debut album Adouna. 

Adouna is the Wolof word for both life and the world. Published on the Ajabu label, Adouna was described as one of the most interesting world music albums in Sweden in 2008. Their second album Stockholm-Dakar followed in 2011.

“My father was a musician, who owned a lot of instruments but not the kora. When I travelled to the Gambia, I learnt to play the kora, songs and history. The kora is an amazing instrument especially its sound that is versatile,” Sousou said.

“After learning the cultural performance of the kora I decided to develop my own style because I will never copy the kora masters to perfection. I needed to express myself differently,” she added.

The couple has performed in Germany, Gambia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Senegal, France and Morocco, among other countries.

Ajabu.com describes the duo’s music “As soothing and passionate at the same time, mixing traditional African songs with new material. The themes are universal, many focusing on the subject of love and relationships. Sousou and Maher are daring in using different languages English, Swedish, Mandinka and Wolof.”