Habib Koité (photo: Margot Canton Lamousse) Should you cross Habib Koité wearing a furrowed brow, ambulating through his ten acre field, 25km from his home/studio/refuge in west Bamako, he’s probably working on a new album. With giant strides, he paces back and forth before returning to his iPad and Godin guitar, resting up on one of the rare trees giving shade under a burning Malian sun. He’ll grab his iPhone to listen to the melodic line he just composed and re-record another version. Habib’s creative juices might be in full flow, but it’s no cakewalk. “You can’t imagine the pressure and stress I put myself under when there’s a deadline for a new album. I’ll isolate myself for days, blocking out everything and think of nothing else until it’s over. It’s torture.”