THE KANNEH-MASONS | INTERVIEW
The Kanneh-Masons are the most famous family in classical music: all seven (seven!) siblings play instruments including cello, piano and violin. Sheku, Isata, Braimah, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata and Mariatu Kanneh-Mason have just released an album. Carl Marsh had a chat.
Am I correct in saying that one of your parents grew up in Wales?
Isata: Yeah, our mother. She was born in West Africa, Sierra Leone, but then when she was four, she moved to Wales and grew up there. So we go back to Wales, every year, basically, and holidays in Wales were a big part of our childhood. As well, our grandmother and one of our aunties lives there still. One lives in Caldicot, Monmouthshire and the other lives on a mountain in mid-Wales!
Your album, Carnival, not only marks the first time all seven of you have performed together but also has new poems by War Horse author Michael Morpugo – read by him and Olivia Colman. How did this come about?
Jeneba: I think Decca contacted Michael and told him about the idea of the album, and that they wanted him to write some poems. And it kind of went from there – they came up with pieces that worked with his book, Grandpa Christmas.
Geographically, you’re usually spread out across the UK either working or studying. Was it tricky getting all seven of you to record this together – or did you do it separately?
Sheku: Well, normally we are but at the time – we recorded it in August – we’d just spent four months all together in Nottingham. We were able to rehearse together and solely focus on that, and then travel to London together and make the recording. I guess that would be one of the very few positives of having a lockdown.
I’d like to ask Braimah and Konya, as I’ve not spoken to them yet [laughter], which tracks they are most fond of on this album, and why?
Konya: For me, I think it would be Redemption Song, because it was lovely to have something on the album that was purely our creation – well, the song is by Bob Marley, but the arrangement was purely ours and that felt very special.
Braimah: Mine would be Sea Murmurs, that Jeneba and I played. In the weeks leading up to recording, we had lots of time practising it slowly and hearing each other’s solos, and it was really fun to finally record it.
What do you think led you to follow the path of learning the instruments you did – piano, violin, cello?
Sheku: We always had a piano and a violin in the house due to our mum, but I remember watching an orchestra when I was younger and being excited by the challenge, so switched to the cello. I guess the other siblings also followed that way into music – but music has always been something in the house.
Finally, how have the two younger Kanneh-Masons – Mariatu (aged 11) and Aminata (14) – settled into this journey of recording music whilst still at school?
Jeneba: I think it’s been great for Mariatu because she’s actually narrating the album, and she also has her duet with Sheku. It’s such a big thing to be doing at 11 years old – it will really give her confidence, and she stepped into it with open arms. It was lovely to see how she developed over the course of preparing and recording the album. And I think that’s the same with Aminata, as she has quite a big part in the recording too.
The Kanneh-Masons’ album Carnival, featuring Michael Morpurgo and Olivia Colman, is out now on Decca Classics.
words CARL MARSH photos JAKE TURNEY