Bimoya (Humanity): A new album by Sousou & Maher Cissoko
As we celebrate 20 years as a duo, join us in bringing Bimoya to life - a celebration of voices, kora, guitar, rhythms, and humanity.
Hello dear friends!
We are Sousou & Maher Cissoko, a duo connected by music, love, and a shared journey between Sweden and Senegal.
For 20 years, we have shared our music around the world, bringing traditions together through kora, guitar, voices, rhythm, and storytelling.
As partners in music and life, our path has taken us from intimate gatherings to concert halls, festivals, and communities in over 30 countries.
Sousou’s journey began in southern Sweden and led her to West Africa, where she studied the kora with masters in Gambia, Mali, and Senegal. It was there, through Maher’s brother Solo Cissokho, that our paths met and our lives became forever intertwined. Maher, a griot and kora player by birth, carries the living voice of a timeless tradition. Together, we continue to build bridges through music.
🌍 The Story of Bimoya
The time has come for our 5th album: Bimoya, meaning Humanity. Born from the times we are living in, these songs respond to a world that can feel divided and disconnected.
Inspired by the griot tradition of reflecting society through music, the album explores both personal and collective life: identity, peace, resilience, and the choices we face as human beings. Through songs in Mandinka, Swedish, English, Wolof, and French, we want to create music that reminds us of our shared humanity, joy, hope and connection.
🫱🏽🫲🏿 Why crowdfunding?
As we step into our 20th year as a duo, we are inviting our community to help bring this new album to life. Rather than waiting for permission or relying on systems that no longer fully support independent artists, we want to create this next chapter together with you.
Being full-time freelance musicians is a journey of both freedom and challenge. The freedom means we can create music from the heart, on our own terms. It also means insecurity and that recording, production, mixing, mastering, visuals, and release all need to be financed by us. Support for album production has become harder to access, while the costs of creating quality music remain high.
Crowdfunding gives us a way forward. It allows us to create this album independently, with care and the quality it deserves, together with those who believe in our music and want to be part of the journey.
🎙️Where the project is now?
We are well on our way: 10 songs are already written and taking shape in the studio.
Your support will fund the final steps:
Final studio recordings and arrangements
Guest musician collaborations
Professional mixing and mastering
Artwork and visuals
Printing of physical CDs
Release preparations
Our goal is to complete the album by October 2026, with an official release planned for early spring 2027.
Your support will be a vital part of bringing it fully to life.
✨ Join Us
If our music has ever touched you, brought you comfort, joy, or inspiration, this is a meaningful moment to stand with us. If you would like to give us a 20th-anniversary gift, supporting this project is the greatest gift we could receive.
If it’s not possible to support financially right now, sharing this campaign with others is also a beautiful way to help. Every contribution, big or small, is deeply appreciated and helps bring Bimoya to life.
Thank you for believing in us, the power of music and what we can create together as humans.
For humanity – For Bimoya! 🌍✨🕊️
One love,
Sousou & Maher Cissoko