Gabin Dabiré
The singer, guitarist, kora player, and composer, who has lived in Italy for more than 20 years, is noted for music that has universal appeal; it speaks beyond the narrow confines of Burkina Faso or even Africa. “The difference between this recording and many others is that this is done by a learned African musician who evokes the atmosphere of his far-away village. It is therefore not only an extraordinary musical work but also an important piece of cultural documentation,” his website reads. Dabiré, who has performed in several Italian cities set up the Culture Promotion Diffusion Centre in Milan in 1983 to enable him to present the various aspects of the culture he was involved in, including music, cinema and theatre. In 1987, he released the recording of his first CD Kontome (“Spirits”), which was followed by his second CD entitled Afriki Djamana in 1994. Unlike Kontômé, which is a collection of original songs which do not deny a certain western influence, the twelve tracks in Afriki Djamana are a small personal and poetic anthology of traditional sounds.
