Yélassina Coulibaly

“My art project aims at the creation, research and experimentation with different composers and bands sensitive to Africa, especially to African art and I’m ready to work, either in Burkina or Europe, on the implementation of cultural and artistic activities in the field of classical music, baroque, electroacoustics, jazz, jazz-rock, free jazz, rhythm and blues, pop, electro, soul, funk, or any other style of music .. . I suggest a songwriting residency project and I’m looking for singers in the lyric style to develop a common repertoire, for orchestral bands to make CDs and DVDs, concerts, musicals and finally contemporary songwriters. To complete this musical approach, we now have chromatic balafon. ”

A reinvention of African music

Listening to the world and respectful of African cultural heritage, that inspires him as an artist, songwriter, Ye Lassina Coulibaly’s music is surprisingly topical. Curious and attentive to contemporary and traditional musical forms, he reinventes African music through meetings with Western creators and bold artistic projects, without forgetting the voices of his ancestors. His research aimed at expanding melodic possibilities of traditional instruments of West Africa, led him to regular trips to Africa for work sessions with top musicians from Mali and Burkina Faso, always based on the Yan Kadi Faso band. The culmination of this musical journey is the creation in 2000 of a trio of young balafonists which the game is perfectly suited to his musical research. The formation of this trio also meets his commitment to train young artists. Since 2000, many songwriting residency in Bobo-Dioulasso, in Burkina Faso have allowed artists to develop other techniques as pentatonic balafon. The daring game of the trio of balafon is based on the use of chromatic balafon with a suitable fabric of the instrument so that it produces different note pitches absent from the instrument usually made.

Thus, the trio repertoire evolves into chromatic scale. The atypical use of this scale of notes, produces catchy and delightful melodies that will enchant more than one ear, even blasé. This wonderful musical result, driven by the enthusiasm and joy of the musicians to share their artistic discovery outside the agreed musical paths, reinforces Ye Lassina Coulibaly artistic choices whose faith in the ability of African music to win large audiences in beyond Africa’s borders and diasporas has never wavered.

Trio repertoire

The Yan Kadi Faso band values one of the recent Ye Lassina Coulibaly’s creations that forms the trio of balafon. The repertoire consists entirely of original creations, inspired by the course of life, the joys and hardships of everyday life, the values of African wisdom carrying beneficent breath of the ancestors. The repertoire of the trio, however, can easily be tamed, emotions that gives this music may overcome any cultural barriers. This field thus opened, offers a unique latitude of reinterpretation of varied musical repertoires, from jazz to Hip Hop through the French song and many other musical genres. This artistic approach opens the door to a rich artistic and cultural dialogue. A hypnotic and mesmerizing musical form and a musicians’ perfect interpretation!

We invite you to discover the first album title “The country, national anthem of Burkina Faso”

We are looking for creative centers, structures that host residency, domestic stages, foundations that promote artistic encounters.

See the video “La femme moderne” and “Le pays”