The Apparel Music world is enriched by a new section (a new label if you want to call it so) dedicated exclusively to live music: Apparel Red. Since a few years we began and embraced a process of renewal of our sounds and Apparel Music Red (red as the red light when the recording is on) is the missing piece which is going to complete the puzzle. Be it a live act, a band or just a live recording of a session, Apparel Red will be home for it. The first artist to be featured on AR new catalogue is Haruna Kuyateh and his ‘Kora Foo’ EP. Haruna was born in Gambia, the smallest nation in the African continent, and was raised by his maternal grandparents in a very small village far inside the country. They played and sang at all the ceremonies in the area wherever they went. When he was a kid, his grandfather gave him a little Kora and started teaching him to play it while his grandmother taught him to sing. He was taught by great masters and traveled to many countries, learning not only to play the instrument of his life better and better but also the art of the luthier and how to build it. In 2011, while playing stage in his country and improvising a song that denounced the dictator (who was there then), the police came looking for him. The officers didn’t believe that such bold words came from such a skinny little boy and he procrastinated giving him a way to escape. He crossed the desert and arrived in Libya where he worked hard to earn enough money to pay for a boat, to cross the sea and get to Italy. Now he plays music on the streets, feeling like it’s a mission since in Africa everything takes place on the streets, it’s just a natural thing for a musician. He made himself known on social media and was contacted, especially by compatriots, to compose music. He gives Kora lessons and plays with different bands that make both traditional music and a very mixed genre that is difficult to categorise. He is a ‘griot’, therefore music is something that comes from within himself, it’s his weapon, he doesn't play for profit! But what’s a griot? African culture has always been handed down orally rather than in written form and the griots are those who have the very important task of transmitting stories, knowledge and culture. This mission is handed down from father to son. Griots listen, remember and tell the stories of families, centuries-old traditions and give the community identity and pride. In the past, to make the stories more usable, they accompanied them with music and often ended up becoming excellent musicians. Apparel Music is extremely proud to welcome Haruna, his legacy and his talent to the roster and to begin this new important chapter with his amazing music. Kora Foo, Haruna Kuyateh’s record, is composed of the original song Kora Foo and the instrumental version, both mixed by Tuccillo and mastered by Lopazz at the Mixmastering.de studios.