*** Update: Cory Seznec and Marius Pibarot, who travelled from Paris yesterday, have received their PCR results in time to perform. So tonight's gig is on as scheduled!! ***

Amadou Diagne from Senegal and French-American Cory Seznec planted, from a chance busking encounter on a Spring day in Bath, nearly 15 years ago, the seeds of a future collaboration whose musical inspirations draw on West African, American and Ethiopian traditions. Life then took them on different touki ('journeys' in Wolof), but an Arts Council of England grant has seen them come together in Paris and then at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, and their stunning album Right of Passage is the result. Kora dances playfully with and around banjo and guitar whilst the calabash and other percussion add powerful, driving beats. Their silky, soulful voices entrancingly envelop the music for a groovy reverie of lilting vocals and instrumentation. They will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Marius Pibarot. Click here for the Touki webpage. 

Amadou Diagne is a musician who has the traditions of West Africa at his fingertips. Amadou comes from a Griot family descending from a line of percussionists and praise singers from the area around Dakar, Senegal. Though he draws heavily on the traditional music and rhythms of West Africa, since moving to England he has been busy forging his own musical identity as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Amadou writes and sings most of his songs in Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal, with some French and English in the mix. A self-taught kora player and guitarist, he has developed a unique and intricate style to accompany himself, drawing on his skills as a percussionist. A powerful singer with a rich, high-pitched voice, Amadou is a true natural who loves learning, playing and performing music, delighting in the rhythmic possibilities within the melodies he composes.

Somewhere between musical wanderer and uncertified ethnomusicologist dwells the world of Cory Seznec. A French-American musician based in Paris, Cory discovered fingerstyle guitar and clawhammer banjo during his adolescence in the US. This led to travels in the pursuit of new sounds and encounters that helped develop his musicianship. The discovery of African playing techniques coupled with trips to different African countries (including a three and half year stint in Ethiopia) changed everything. His style became more and more syncopated, polyrhythmic, and cross-pollinated, and his approach less and less academic. After 10 years on the road with renowned roots act Groanbox, Cory now has a solo project and plays with Damakase, an Ethio-groove band with Ethiopian musicians Endris Hassen and Misale Legesse. Two years ago he brought us his quartet to us from Paris.

This concert will conclude two years in which Tuned In London has presented a series of concerts that invite audiences to reflect on the movement of people around the world, people who up sticks for a multitude of reasons, and head to lands unknown, marking the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower Ship leaving Rotherhithe's shore, captained and crewed by Rotherhithe residents.

Doors will open at 6.30pm. Music will start at 7pm as the church closes at 9pm. A bar will serve non-alcoholic drinks and Finnish snacks. The church is a 5 minute walk from Rotherhithe Overground Station, and 381 and C10 buses. Buses 188, P12 and 47 also run nearby.

If feeling unwell, we ask you to stay at home.  If you are able to, please do a lateral flow test and only attend if the result is negative.