Davorio is a great collaboration between Italian musician Samuele Strufaldi and Ivorian djembe player Boris Pierrou, whose profits will finance the construction of a community space in the village of Gohouo-Zagna.
the adventure Davorio begins in Florence, northern Italy, where Samuele Strufaldi and Boris Pierrou meet. The first is a polyhedral artist. He masters the piano as well as the saxophone, and excels in other disciplines such as painting and sculpture. The second is a talented djembe player. Born and raised in the village of Gohouo-Zagna, in the west of the Ivory Coast, and rocked by Guéré rhythms. In 2019, Boris invites Samuele to follow him on his return trip to Gohouo-Zagna. Eager ” to enrich [son] creative universe by meeting other people and other cultures », Strufaldi meets the marvelous talents of the village, whose percussions and voices punctuate the daily life of Gohouo-Zagna. Above all, Pierrou then told him regarding his ambitious project: to build a library and a community space in his native village, in order to allow its inhabitants to flourish thanks to their art, in a sustainable way.
To carry out this large-scale project, Strufaldi and Pierrou have the idea of an album, the profits of which will be used to finance the project. The creation of an NGO and a few recording sessions later, Strufaldi returns to Italy with raw recordings, ready to be explored and transformed. This is how, with the help of the Musica Macondo label, Davorio (in Italian, “d’Ivoire”) was born. The 15 titles of the opus reveal real nuggets. Powerful traditional songs mixed with catchy saxophone riffs, all in a captivating electronica atmosphere. Guéré sounds are sublimated there, punctuated by the tempo of Ivorian percussion. The djembe and the saxophone converse, while the voices tell the fables of the village, and their morals on happiness, love or even on God. One of the songs is even dedicated to Gianna, Pierrou’s wife.
Davorio is both an ode to the village of Boris Pierrou, and a promise for the future. Through the construction of this creative space, Davorio might be the engine for other albums, other creative initiatives, and new horizons for the inhabitants of Gohouo-Zagna.
Davorio will be available on May 5. Pre-order the album on Bandcamp, and visit the fundraising page for more information.
