‘Abel Selaocoe & Bantu Ensemble’

You have versatile musicians, and you have Abel Selaocoe. The South African cellist moves effortlessly between the most divergent genres, from collaborations with global music musicians (such as Seckou Keita) and innovative projects with beatboxers to dizzying interpretations of classical concertos. To achieve this balancing act, he founded the Bantu Ensemble in 2022 with Alan Keary on bass, Fred Thomas on the piano and Dudù Kouaté on percussion. The following years were filled with a world tour of the most prestigious concert halls and a widely acclaimed debut album. Their latest LP, Hymns of Bantu, combines Selaocoe’s compositions with those of J.S. Bach and Marin Marais as if they were three school classmates meeting up for a reunion after several centuries.