Stranded Horse & Boubacar Cissokho : new album and tour 2025

Stranded Horse (aka Yann Tambour)’s second album Humbling Tides was released by Talitres in early 2011. It featured ethereal melodies and a wandering spirit. Years before, Tambour had made a dramatic artistic shift away from the darker sound of his electronic/orchestral project Encre with Churning Strides (2007). This distinctive and bright work blended Anglo-Saxon folk with French chanson and Mande music, where classical guitar and kora arpeggios intertwined to create a timeless musical landscape.

A residency in Dakar led to a pivotal meeting between Tambour and Boubacar Cissokho, following Tambour’s collaboration with Malian master Ballaké Sissoko. Boubacar, who would go on to co-write most of Tambour‘s third album Luxe (2016), is the direct descendant of the musician who brought the kora from Mali to Casamance. Their partnership proved essential to Tambour‘s musical journey. Following a wild escapade in the form of Grand Rodeo on the Ici D’Ailleurs label—a record of wandering, dance and trance—The Warmth You Deserve is set to be released on Talitres on April 4th.

Written and recorded in Western Normandy, where Tambour grew up and moved back just under a decade ago after spells in various cites such as Paris, Bristol, Brussels or Marseilles, this new album marks a return to spellbinding simplicity. While Cissokho‘s contributions were previously scattered across their recordings, a decade of live performances has given him a prominent role in the music. This evolution shines through on all nine tracks, where their string instruments intertwine in perfect harmony.

The album’s title track, The Warmth You Deserve, speaks to finding comfort in turbulent times. Throughout the stripped-back arrangements, a newfound serenity emerges in Tambour’s compositions, while Cissokho‘s distinctive kora is the golden thread weaving its way through the album.