SOPHIE LUKACS | Single Before you ft. Habib Koite

Discover Before You ft. Habib Koité, the new single from Sophie Lukacs, singer-songwriter and accomplished kora player (African harp with 21 strings).

Sophie Lukacs has just won the MUZ Vision Diversite competition in Montreal, and has been chosen to perform at the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, Missouri in 2023.

The sweetness of Sophie and her kora, sublimated by the virtuoso Habib Koité!

This opus featuring the legendary Habib Koité is the fourth single from Sophie Lukacs’ upcoming album “Falling” which will be released in April 2023.

In Before You, she talks about the end of a relationship and the search for the courage to leave. The song has the natural contagion of pop music, with the distinct instrumental and rhythmic sounds of Mali.

Sophie’s light and airy voice is once again combined with her kora playing, accompanied by a group of renowned Malian musicians and the remarkable Habib Koité. The famous musician comes to deposit on this piece his so authentic and recognizable guitar lines.

This magnificent artistic collaboration makes Before You an ode to poetry and the beauty of encounters!

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

SOPHIE LUKACS

Montreal-based singer-songwriter Sophie Lukacs was born in Budapest, Hungary and raised in Canada. Trained as a classical violinist from an early age, a chance trip to Burkina Faso in her early twenties completely changed her musical direction and her life. It was there that she discovered the kora, a 21-string African lute harp from the Mandingo Empire. After attending a class with kora master Toumani Diabaté, he invited her to study with him in Bamako, Mali. Sophie spent seven years in Mali (learning Bambara along the way), studying with kora master Toumani Diabaté and the family of Ballake Sissoko. Drawing on her time in Mali, as well as her previous musical experiences – classical violin studies, and her roots in Hungarian Jewish folk music – she has forged a unique style in the folk tradition. She has performed for audiences throughout Europe, Africa and North America. She recently performed at the Nuits d’Afrique festival in 2022. Falling, her first album, will be released in the spring of 2023, and will include two tracks with the legendary Habib Koité.

HABIB KOITÉ

Hailing from the prolific West African nation of Mali, guitarist and composer Habib Koité has been called the region’s biggest pop star by Rolling Stone. A modern-day troubadour, he descends from a noble line of griots, from whom he inherited his passion for music. His grandfather played the kamele n’goni, a traditional string instrument associated with the legendary hunters of the Wassoulou region. Koité is perhaps best known for his danssa doso, a unique blend of local rhythms and traditional hunter music, and often plays his guitar on open strings in the style of an n’goni. His latest studio album Kharifa, released in 2019, was recorded in Bamako and is rich in the musical traditions and instruments of his country.