Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté are both well-known soloists in their own right, but this duo recording is something special taking us on an improvisational musical journey into new landscapes.

“It’s like this music was already there waiting for us,” says Toumani. “And it’s like the two of us knew each other before – in another life.”

“The qualities of minimalism and trance that I like in Persian music are also there in Toumani’s,” says Kayhan.

Kayhan Kalhor, from Iran, is the leading player of the kamancheh, the Persian spike fiddle. He has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Shujaat Khan, Erdal Erzincan, the Rembrandt Trio and many others.

Likewise, Toumani Diabaté, from Mali, is the leading player of the West African kora. He’s won three Grammys and recorded with Ballaké Sissoko, Taj Mahal, Ali Farka Touré, Björk and the London Symphony Orchestra. This is Kayhan’s first collaboration with an African musician.

The spontaneous recording is both a dialogue and a journey through Kayhan and Toumani’s exceptional improvisational skills.

The duo first performed together at the Morgenland Festival in Osnabrück in 2016. A short European tour followed and then this recording was made in Paris. Through this recording, Kayhan and Toumani take us on a musical journey, drawing on the wellsprings of their rich musical cultures in the Persian and Mandé lands. But more than that it’s about musical personalities and two musicians who are free enough to throw themselves into a totally uncharted and unrehearsed performance and come out with something that makes everyone feel better.

For fans of World and Classical music, and those with specific interest in African and Middle Eastern music.

Double LP features etched Side D.