Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto

A quiet, intimate dialogue between West Africa and southern France comes to Rotterdam when Ablaye Cissoko (kora) and Cyrille Brotto (diatonic accordion) bring Djiyo to LantarenVenster. In Cissoko’s hands, the kora, often described as a West African harp, becomes something almost breath-like, soft and warm, carrying a melodic vocal line rooted in centuries-old stories from Senegal.

Brotto, a specialist of the diatonic accordion and a long-time presence in Occitan folk, meets that sound with a different kind of tradition: earthy, precise, and quietly danceable when it needs to be. Together, they create a duo where kora, voice, and accordion find each other in music that’s light, melancholic, and beautifully simple, with an almost spiritual sense of space.

After many international concerts, this is billed as their first appearance at LantarenVenster with their new album Djiyo. The title translates as “water”, and the listing leans into that image: music as a connecting current, flowing between Mandinka traditions and South-French folk. Cissoko’s wider collaborations include names such as Randy Weston and Eric Bibb, and with Brotto he returns to the power of minimal, rich interplay.

Details

• Date: Thursday 19 November 2026
• Start: 20:30
• Ticket price: €25 (including €3 service fee per ticket)
• Location: LantarenVenster, Rotterdam
• Seating: all seated, free seat choice
• Line-up: Ablaye Cissoko (kora), Cyrille Brotto (diatonic accordion)