The griot of modern times

FULL REVIEW OF THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 27, 24 – CAPSULE 1 (((KORA)))

Hi Costa & Friends,

Well! First time back on the (((floor))) since Dad passed away on March 20, and it felt good!

This text, posted here on my group Costa & Friends Mtl Underground, is different from the versions posted on the Stereo Society and FRONT RITE groups; it's more personal and juicy… just saying. 😉

So, to those of you who were there, or who weren't: we went out for our brother Roger from the Bunker, together with Manu and Sophie, Alex, Mel, Lou, Mario and many many more dancers…

I wanted to share with you becauuuussseee…

because last Saturday's experience was truly magical, and it's worth taking a few moments to highlight it… With a bit of research to go with it.

So, we're talking about the artist named KORA, and I'm drawing a parallel.

First, did you know that the kora is a sacred instrument of West Africa whose origins go back nearly a thousand years, and that it is played by those called the Griots, wise people who pass on the knowledge and the history of the world through oral and musical tradition?

The Kora is the most sophisticated of Africa's string instruments and is considered a kind of symbiosis between the lute and the harp, and it was played at the royal court in traditional societies.

It is credited with therapeutic virtues because of the complexity of its sounds and the sophistication of its Harmonies.

It is an instrument that demands great virtuosity and capacity for awareness, and still today, even though it is more accessible, not everyone gets to be a great griot, or even a simple string strummer, able to draw the magic out of it.

Lovers of THE kora will tell you it's more than a mere instrument: it's a tool for the soul.

Lovers of the artist KORA, for their part, will tell you that this human being is much more than a mere DJ: an instrument for the soul, a modern-day GRIOT who reconnects us to the great whole, in full awareness.

Indeed, I couldn't find better words than those used to define the instrument's therapeutic virtues on an explanatory website: Like the instrument the kora, the artist KORA opens the doors of our inner symphonies, and his music is like a balm for the heart, a sound treatment, offering sensations of an energetic massage…

As our friend Ben Mahi put it extraordinarily well in his post on FR, the experience the artist KORA gave the few hundred dancers there on Saturday, April 27, was beautifully spiritual and connected with the elements.

Having seen more than one person cry on the floor, I believe it was a night with a touch of magic very particular to the artist…

Personally, my last contact with Kora was on July 22, 2022, at the Hidden Garden party, and I had missed his set because that was exactly when I was being assaulted, at the very moment I had to fight for my life like never before. For one instant, I avoided certain death, and I lived.

That day, I saved my life by the grace of God, when I should have been dancing to Kora's music…

This weekend, I went to celebrate the memory of my father Jules André, whose funeral I have just completed, and I danced with lots of friends for him, with him, to the sound of KORA, the instrument of the soul. It was magical

Rarely, if ever, had I witnessed such a beautiful sight at the finale: dozens of people almost motionless, silent, couples holding each other close, eyes closed, all of them, letting themselves be gently rocked by the reflections of the mirror ball flooding their faces with crystalline light…

Such sweetness…. What an incredible moment of grace. And it was BEAUTIFUL! The people there were magnificent!

It takes immense maturity and great vision to own long, deep silences on a floor in total symbiosis. The ability to lead every dancer to slow down their rhythm to embrace the moment is a subtle, shamanic art, which refers exactly to the instrument of the KORA!

Thank you Mikael Robia aka Kora for your generosity, your awareness and the silences so fully owned… which make all the other sounds even more appreciable. It was frankly delicious, thank you.

exit video https://www.facebook.com/reel/339847742074719

Of course, gratitude to Stereo for making it possible.

See a few beautiful memories of the outing with the survivors, the magnificent smiles and the most beautiful dancers 🙂

Love you…

LOST BUT FOUND … By Costa 😉

**To wrap up, by divine grace, as always I find lots of odds and ends… among others the MP3 audio recorder (see photos); if you know who it belongs to, let me know…