Ky x Bala Dée

Ky × Bala Dee is a French-African-Japanese ensemble, an expanded side project of Ky duo. Nakano and Pittard, members of Ky, met with balafon virtuoso Moussa Hema and n'goni player Bachir Sanogo from Côte d'Ivoire in 2008. After participating together in Africolor Festival in France, musicians decided to establish a new project, Bala Dée (meaning 'wood's sounds'), to further develop this collaboration. Joined by French drummer and percussionist Gaston Zirko, Ky and Bala Dee travelled to Burkina Faso and toured Japan in 2011–12. The ensemble later represented Hema's home country at the 2013 TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development). They recorded an album together, 3153044, which was released in 2011 by Japanese label openmusic, and featured original compositions, improvisations, Erik Satie's Les courses, and re-arranged traditional Japanese and African tunes. Ky × Bala Dée Maki Nakano (JP) – alto saxophone, metal clarinet, vocals Yann Pittard (FR) – baritone guitar, oud, percussion, effects, vocals Moussa Hema (BF) – balafon, percussion, vocals Bachir Sanogo (CI) – donso & kamale ngoni, percussion, vocals Gaston Zirko (FR) – drums, percussion