After years spent sublimating the music of the artists he accompanies with his guitar playing and the softness of his Kora (Ba Cissoko, Mariama, Jain and Gabi Hartmann among others), Abdoulaye Kouyat is putting his creative energy into a personal project that brings together his original compositions.

As well as being a virtuoso guitarist, Abdoulaye Kouyat is also a master of melody and a singer with a hushed timbre. At times deep and touching, at other times rhythmic and danceable, his mixed music oscillates between ballads, kora instrumentals and Afropop-sounding tracks borrowing their rhythms from coup dcal, zouk or traditional Guinean yol.

Abdoulaye commissioned Patrick Ruffino to produce the album, accompanied by Yannick Vela on bass and Nicolas Grupp on drums. The album is enriched by valuable contributions from Peul flute player Dramane Dembele, singer Gabi Hartmann, bassist Guy Nsangu, saxophonist Robbie Marshall, cellist Guillaume Latil, djembefola player Dartagnan Camara and backing vocals from singer Djene Kouyat. The diversity of this first album is astonishing.

Sung in Soussou (the language of the Guinean capital, Conakry) and in French, several tracks are inspired by Abdoulaye’s romantic youth in Conakry between 1990 and 2000. It was a time when he was perfecting his guitar skills by following in the footsteps of local musicians, hosting wild expatriate parties at the Grand Htel Camayenne with his band, and falling in love for the first time (Inondi, Doumedira, On fait quoi? and Nitanama among others). The carefree days of Guinea were followed by the jungle of Europe, adult life, responsibilities, the cold, and the difficult learning curve. These life lessons inspire tracks such as Dounima (the grudge-holder), Sar (everything has a price) and Inamakana (if you can’t help your neighbour, don’t make him suffer). The track Fefanyi (the benefactor), which gives the album its title, picks up on the griot tradition, from which the Kouyats come, of singing the praises of great men and generous benefactors.