Salif Keita, naked magnetism at Primavera Sound

In July 2019, musician Salif Keita announced that his then-recent album, Un autre blanc (released a year earlier), would be his final work, citing the "exhausting" process of composing and recording it, and that people "don't buy records." So, it's a fact: almost five years later, in April, the Malian artist released So kono, a new album in which he made a sonic U-turn, opting for an acoustic, at times even minimalist, approach.

Now, the glorious African creator is bringing his current endeavor to life, channeling it in a radically acoustic way and through a sound that's currently moving away from the pairings of until recently, and everything is more essential and direct. A performance he gave yesterday at noon at the Apolo Hall—you know, the space next to Paral·lel 62 that has hosted some concerts that should have been offered at the Auditori del Fòrum—was half-full at the start. An audience of thirty and up, well-informed and aware of what they were getting into, although perhaps they weren't expecting such an essential Keita, especially at the start.

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At 75 years old, dressed in dark colors and wearing a cap, he appeared on stage holding the hand of an assistant. Sitting on a chair