The Paris-based Ballaké Sissoko learnt how to play the kora or West-African harp from his father in Mali. When his father died, the thirteen-year-old Ballaké, now head of the family, replaced him in the Malian Ensemble Instrumental National. Then he took his traditional 21-string kora and travelled the world. With success: improvising with his voice and his instrument, he created a remarkably personal style that never fails to hypnotise, inviting the listener to start dreaming and never come back.
