Search - Youssoupha Sidibe :: Xelcom

The music of Youssoupha Sidibe is deeply infused with a longing for the full realization of divine love in this world. The artist s musical career began over twenty years ago in his home of Senegal, West Africa, where he was trained as a Kora player at the National Music Conservatory of Senegal. His music fuses traditional West African sounds performed on the Kora, with the Sufi devotional chanting of the Senegalese Baay Faal community. The angelic sounds of the Kora, an indigenous harp, soulfully carry Youssoupha Sidibe s heartfelt devotional lyrics. Since his arrival on the international music circuit, Youssoupha has recorded, performed, and/or collaborated with artists such as India Arie, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Charles Neville, Future Man, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Midnite and Matisyahu. His latest collaboration, Shalom/Salaam , was with artist Matisyahu, on the album entitled Youth . Youth also contains an additional track, Ancient Lullaby , which features Youssoupha on Kora. Rolling Stone Magazine picked Shalom/Salaam as one of the two key tracks on the album. Since it s release, Youth has reached gold sales status and has been nominated for a Grammy award in the 2007 reggae category. Xelcom picks up where Sacred Sound left off, infusing the sound of the Kora with Sufi meditative chants and phrasing that finds the listener reminded of its message after its refrain has ended.