Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal

Kora and cello duet - both featherlight and heavyweight
If Toumani Diabate had chosen on a different path in life, Ballake Sissoko would be the planet's most celebrated kora player. There's little shadow of doubt about that. Not that the pair are bitter and deadly rivals riven by professional jealousy, though. In fact, they're neighbours in the Malian capital of Bamako and have constantly collaborated throughout their parallel careers, most significantly on the classic album New Ancient Strings. Still, Ballake remains his own man and his latest project, in league with the French cellist Vincent Segal, finds him forging his own distinctive stamp. Segal is far from a mere cap-doffing accompanist, though. The duo's deeply beautiful (and perfectly titled) 2008 record Chamber Music found them a partnership of equals, with kora and cello interweaving and duelling on what The Guardian called "intense and intricate duets on which no other musicians are needed".

(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2011)