Continuity is a fundamental principal of African music. Sounds have been handed down through generations for hundreds of years and the astoundingly rich cultural heritage of countries such as Mali, Senegal and Gambia can be traced through bloodlines that reach right back in time.   If certain families have become synonymous with music, then Cissoko is a name to be reckoned with. It automatically brings to mind the gifted father and son kora players Djelimadi and Ballake Cissoko. Soundioulou and Doudou Cissoko also represent two generations of musical excellence. A startling young Senegalese kora player/vocalist who is both honouring the rich tradition associated with his forebears and personalising it with his own unique blend of influences, Doudou is set to a win worldwide acclaim with his debut for db records Dimbaya.   His father Soundioulou is one of the great exponents of the kora, the graceful twenty one stringed instrument whose tonality has both the svelte lyricism of a harp and the mellifluous romanticism of a lute. Soundioulou's music, used extensively on national Senegalese radio, is well known to compatriots. Doudou's music has a style of its own.   Dimbaya is a beautifully crafted collection of songs that highlight the 32 year old's impressive ability as both composer and soloist. The music is ornate yet direct, emotive and earthy, adventurous yet mindful of the spirit that guided his father and other artists before him. Dimbaya is a culmination of several years of organic, probing interplay between Doudou, double bassist Jean-Jacques Plante and the other members of their working ensemble; percussionist Frantz Flereau, guitarist Dave Randall and cellist Nicolas Carpentier .   Doudou met Jean-Jacques when he arrived in Bordeaux, France from Senegal back in 1994 and soon struck up a rapport based on a shared love of improvisation and composition. They worked together as a duo for three or four years playing at various venues in the city, building up a musical chemistry that would take them beyond any staid convention of World Music or ethnic fusion.   Gradually they carved a reputation as an exciting and dynamic new act and were offered tours both in France and around Europe. As the buzz on the two musicians increased they met English guitarist Randall and Caribbean percussionist Flereau.   Although Doudou had already made his mark as a solo performer opening for such luminaries as jazz/world music pioneer Joe Zawinul and blues legend Johnny Copeland, it was the interaction with other musicians that allowed him to develop the songs on Dimbaya.   When I started to work with Jean-Jacques things really opened up," says Doudou. "With double bass and then percussion, we started to branch out, just enriched the sound. We worked in clubs in Bordeaux, and developed over time. "Jean-Jacques and I started to put together a repertoire. We saw each other three or four times a week and things just took their own course. We went from a duo to trio and then added a drummer and keyboards. I could feel the whole thing developing in stages."   Indeed an exciting fusion was well underway with African and latin rhythms and elements of jazz flowing into the mix. Although Doudou was the guiding force behind the music, every musician in the ensemble brought his own feeling to bear on the work in progress. "When we play together each member has his own way of keeping time," Doudou explains. "I do it African style. The percussionist does it his way with a Caribbean feel. If he were an African percussionist it would have produced something else but he's not. He has his culture and it produces something unique when it interacts with mine.   "The basis of the music is Manding but it has absorbed lots of other influences. There has been an opening up really. Leopold Sedar Senghor [The renowned poet and former President of Senegal] said that tomorrow's world will be one where cultures mix. I agree with that. "I know traditional Senegalese music. It's what I grew up with but I've been living in Europe for years and that experience has to come out. All of the people I've met along the way, they've touched my music."   The presence of Doudou's father is still a decisive one though. Unlike several other kora players, Doudou accompanies his playing with a gentle yet incisive vocal. " My father used to sing. He was my reference. It's part of my heritage. It's natural. I never thought about whether I should sing or not."   Doudou's musical path has been a long and exciting one. Born in the small town of Thies, some sxity kilometres east of Dakar, he was exposed to the sound of kora through his father and fellow musicians very early on in life. "Since I was a child I heard my father playing," recalls Doudou. "My father wanted us to go to school rather than play the kora though. Maybe he knew about hardships that musicians often endure. But at the age of 14, I started to take an interest in playing music. I think that everything that I'd soaked up as a kid started to come out."   He soon started to write his own songs but couldn't register them at Sengalese PRS because he was too young. So his elder brother logged the songs on his behalf back in 1986. It was the first step on the road to a serious commitment to life as an artist. Doudou enroled at the National Conservatory in Dakar for a seven year course in music theory. But after two years he realised that his destiny lay more in practise than theory. He started to play with a local Ballet company, working in small venues in the city.   He soon started playing on Goree island, the poignantly beautiful strip of land just off the coast of Senegal, best known as the depot for slaves bound for the 'New World.' His playing attracted the attention of lots of visiting tourists and soon Doudou found himself being invited to come to Europe. Eventually he set his sights on Bordeaux and started to make his way as a professional musician.   Doudou's determination to make music on his own terms has taken him into territory that is far away from the traditional balladry of his father. Yet the two generations are linked by a desire to take risks. "My father revolutionised the kora really. Before the strings made were woven animal hide but he introduced nylon strings. They were tougher, they brought a new sound. I can't claim to be as original but in my own way I make music that reflects my experiences, my journey."