Nuru Kane

"Musical journey” is a pretty trite way to describe any album, mostly because every album is one. But Sigil, the newest release from Senegalese guitarist and vocalist Nuru Kane, really has the feel of a personal story — the travels and trials of one man trying to find his own musical roots among the many strains that make up the culture he came from. Although the CD is billed just under Kane, many of the tracks also include his band Bayefall Gnawa. The name encompasses just a few of the influences that make up this diverse recording. First is the Gnawa tribe, from whom Kane received his fascination with their trance music and the guimbri, their three-stringed bass; and second is Baye Fall, a spiritual brotherhood started by Cheikh Amadu Bamba. This influence is heard especially in the lyrics of the songs, which talk about human emotions, morality and the impacts of violence. The overall production is light and thin, but with no less depth in the sound for it. It is almost entirely acoustic and mostly simple arrangements. "Gorée,” was recorded in a single live take, and immediately I was drawn to the sound of blues, of one man with his guitar and a plaintive vocal strain but with a sway from inside the gut string of the bass. There is something in the sound of this song that emulates a heart on his sleeve — completely exposed, completely open. With the feeling of a pin drop in a silent room, it captures the attention and holds it fast, taking us along on his journey.