Manding Melody featuring Habib Koite and Sura Susso

Soulful vocals, shimmering kora melodies and complex rhythmic Malian guitar in this special collaboration.

An innovative and refreshing approach to creativity that will take listeners and audiences on a journey through West Africa, grounded with traditions full of joyful melodic vibes in a setting celebrating friendship and culture.

Manding Melody features Mali’s redoubtable troubadour and guitarist Habib Koite and the charismatic Gambian kora maestro and singer Sura Susso, presenting their newly recorded intergenerational, cross-cultural project which celebrates the powerful ‘griot’ narratives of traditional Manding folk tales and stories, told through modern musical styles.

West Africa’s griots (in Mandinka language known as Jeli) are traditional storytellers, poets, historians, musicians, and praise singers. They maintain and share traditions, cultural heritage, values and history. They originated in the 13th century within the Mande Empire of Mali. Since then, the oral tradition has been handed down through specific Manding griot families (in Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea) of which both Sura and Habib were born into.

Traditional instruments used by griots include the kora, balafon and ngoni. Manding Melody highlights some of these instruments, intertwined with contemporary musical instruments and styles. The result is a blend that refreshes and revives ancient stories and musical traditions.

Habib Koité 
Malian guitarist and vocalist Habib Koité is one of Africa’s most popular and recognized musicians. Born into a noble line of Khassonké griots – traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and music at social gatherings – Koité has spent decades redefining African guitar music. Known for his unique approach to playing the guitar, tuning his instrument to the pentatonic scale and playing on open strings, his innovative fingerpicking style echoes instruments such as the kora and the kamale n’goni. He has sold more than 400,000 albums, performed over 1,700 concerts worldwide, and collaborated with leading artists across genres, from Jackson Browne and the Art Ensemble of Chicago to Eric Bibb and Oumou Sangaré.

Sura Susso
Hailing from a renowned Gambian griot lineage, Sura Susso is a master of the 22-string kora, blending ancient Manding traditions with global influences. He moved to the UK at the age of seventeen to perform with his older brother, Seckou Keita. His quest to promote his music roots and experiment with new genres has led him to collaborations across classical, jazz, and world music, creating a distinctive sound that bridges continents and generations. From British-German violinist Maximilian Baillie, Chinese erhu player Ling Peng, Indian sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee, to French jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz, South African Cellist Abel Selacoe and Senagalese Baaba Maal.