EVE RISSER & NAÏNY DIABATÉ « Anw be yonbolo »

Composer and pianist Eve Risser and Malian singer Naïny Diabaté explore contrast and harmony through a free-form encounter with Mandingo traditions — an unexpected alliance between the soaring clarity of voice and the vibrant textures of the prepared piano.

“Anw be yonbolo” means “We are together” in Bambara. The songs, often partly improvised, evoke themes of women’s rights, the protection and dignity of children, and the essential value of coexistence.

This collaboration celebrates a meeting of generations and cultures, where the spirit of sisterhood guides both artists as they carry their respective heritages — that of European and American composers and that of Malian griots and musicians — toward new continents, both real and imaginary, where music becomes at once meditative and full of movement.

This duo emerged naturally from the desire to return to the roots of the Kogoba Basigui program — a project created in 2018 from the union of Eve Risser’s Red Desert Orchestra and Naïny Diabaté’s Kaladjula Band.

Naïny Diabaté, a pioneering singer from Bamako, founded Mali’s first all-female orchestra and has been celebrated throughout her country since the early 1980s. At the same time, the French pianist and flutist Eve Risser was born in Alsace and has since become a major voice in the world of improvised music. A mutual sense of care and sisterhood flows naturally between them, immediately perceptible in their music. Their contrasts are precious.

By distilling a 16-member orchestra into a duo recital, the flavors become more pronounced — almost chemical. Each composer, already rich in her own experience, feeds on what she does not know, discovering and savoring it through the other. Sharing transforms into immediate creation. As Naïny says: “When Eve plays, our trust allows me to invent, to improvise — we create together. It works for an orchestra, it works for a duo.”

Eve adds context: “‘Anw be yonbolo’ means ‘We are together’ in Bambara. In Mali, this phrase is spoken when a problem arises — to resolve it.” Imagine if, at the onset of every conflict, people remembered this principle… Anw Be Yonbolo embodies the courage to embrace difference, the intimate shock of encountering the Other, and the stimulation that arises from knowing we can co-exist within an artistic space. Yet their work is not simply about goodwill — both women approach their music and daily practice as a form of activism. Here, expression is liberated, healthy. Their songs speak to women’s rights, the protection and dignity of children, themes close to Diabaté’s heart.

Born a griotte, Naïny Diabaté carries the traditional role of pacifier and social mediator within Malian families — a role that is rare for women but essential, passed down through generations. She continues to uphold the Mandingue musical heritage, constantly enriched by contemporary influences. The piano, a mini-orchestra in itself, carries the legacy of European and American composers, studied and traversed by Risser, who sometimes bends them, inspired by the sounds of the balafon. Eve plays with a physical engagement that signals her intentions: music, essential, must be accessible to all. The prepared piano drives the rhythm, the dramatic tension of the voice spreads it — together, they imbue body and mind with a palpable energy, never forgetting that “We are together.”

In collaboration with the company ReVeR.