Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko - If Nothing Is Real | An unreal, unexpected collaboration.

Ballaké Sissoko & Piers Faccini — “If Nothing Is Real” From the album Our Calling

/// A Meeting of Worlds

Sometimes collaboration feels inevitable, but sometimes it feels like a small miracle. Our Calling — a collaboration between Ballaké Sissoko and Piers Faccini — is the latter. Two artists from different worlds: Sissoko, the Malian virtuoso of the 21-stringed kora, and Faccini, the London-born, France-raised singer-songwriter with a voice like oak. On paper, the match might seem unlikely. In sound, it’s pure grace.

Ballaké Sissoko has been a master of his craft for decades, releasing music since 1998 and performing long before that, weaving the ancient sound of the kora into new musical conversations. Piers Faccini has charted a steady solo path since 2001, writing albums that have found success and deep respect in France's singer-songwriter scene.

/// Stringing Together

“If Nothing Is Real”, one of the standout tracks from Our Calling, captures everything that makes this collaboration so remarkable. The instrumentation is stripped to its essentials: Piers' gentle, plucked guitar holds down the harmonic foundation while Ballaké’s kora threads luminous counter-melodies through the open spaces. No drums, no bass—just two instruments and one voice, each one pulling more weight than seems possible.

Yet, it never feels sparse. Through careful rhythmic interplay and a command of dynamics, the song fills the air like a full ensemble would. The guitar and kora lean into each other, lifting and answering, between harmony and rhythm.

/// Final Thoughts

The song is a conversation between traditions, and between hearts. A Malian kora master and a Franco-British troubadour meeting somewhere beyond language, creating something that feels both impossibly new and deeply ancient.

+ Here is a link to listen to the song on all streaming platforms. You can also listen to this song plus every song we've written about on our Spotify account playlists here. 

Piers Faccini & Ballake Sissoko - Our Calling Album