Slow and sombre now – each chord builds on the last in a story unfolding from sadness to sadness, with degrees of sweetness in between. Omar wrote this piece for his soul brother Reynaldo Perez Cruz, one of the finest flute players in Cuba, who recently passed away. “It’s like a cry without a cry,” he says. “Not a cry for sadness, but a cry for how the spirit is gonna be elevated.” When Omar first played it, Seckou just listened, head down. Omar said nothing about it being a song for his brother and Seckou let the feeling alone guide his kora. Then, in Paris, Seckou invited his friend, the flute player Dramane Dembélé from Burkina Faso, to come into the studio and add some flute. For the first time ever, he saw Omar crying. Deeply. Dramane stopped and asked whether Omar was ok? They had to wait for him to let it all out. “I think at that moment he could sense and see the presence of his brother’s spirit,” Seckou says.