Album Review: Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet – Ladilikan [World Circuit Records]

For over 40 years Kronos Quartet have trodden a most eclectic path, both in terms of their output and their collaborations.

Their latest with Trio Da Kali (Fodé Lassana Diabaté, Mamadou Kouyaté and singer Hawa ‘Kassé Mady’ Diabate) stays true to that claim with the album’s first single, the very funky “Eh Ya Ye”, being a case in point.

Kronos Quartet really demonstrate their versatility, embracing a music which dates back hundreds of years. They seem equally adroit in support of TDK’s sound as they are in the realm of the many classical pieces they’ve written for them.

In “Tita”, there are moments when this feels like a cinematic score. At other times, as with “God Shall Wipe All The Tears Away”, we are transported to the age of slavery, while “Lila Bambo” really showcases the virtuoso talent of Diabaté.

Diabaté summed it up when he said: “this is going to be the best collaboration of my life”. There’s a very good chance that he was right.