Dorian Portrait

This is "Dorian Portrait" (2023) by John Haycock, a kora player living in Manchester, England.

A student of Gambian griot and kora virtuoso Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh, he plays the 21-string African harp and runs it through an array of electronic devices to create lush soundscapes and solid beats, layered with woodwinds, bridging the gap between ancient West African folk melodies and contemporary electronica, drawing on influences ranging from hip hop to ambient, including dub.

Electronica is a genre that divides tastes, but this album gives off a neutral impression of quiet burning, with the not-too-sentimental melodies of the West African folk instrument, the kora, wrapped in ambient and dub. (Ammel)