"Kora player Kadialy Kouyaté has woven a stellar reputation since arriving in London from Casamance, southern Senegal in 2003 ... Where 2016's Na Kitabo was Kouyaté's first band album, Taling Dimalu finds him flying solo through nine innovative instrumentals grouped under themes including love, humility, happiness and betterment. His maestro status is palpable throughout Recorded in one take, without overdubs (...), this is music as healing, as positive energy. It is technically impressive and spiritually moving. Compositions skip, shimmer and cascade, delicate here, more forceful there, as Kouyaté simultaneously wields melody, bass line and accompaniment with the skill of a storyteller and the soul of a poet"