Thomas Barrière developed this album during the last ten years. Much has happened during the decade between "Primaire", his first solo album released in 2014 on Thödol and "Alkebulan". During this period, he travelled across the world several times with Trottola Circus, he formed the band Algecow with his cohort Bastien Pelenc, he composed a bunch of film soundtracks, and he became a father. And the world changed as well of course!! Thomas goes back to all forms of music that impressed him throughout his life. Born as a rock musician, he starts from Slash to go to John Lee Hooker, passing through Jimi Hendrix, then tracking down to Rhythm’n’Blues, Soul music and — thanks to John Coltrane — to the Gospel (a music already present in his sound installation Du Vent).

And from there, if someone wants to go further, he has to leave America. Following the path of American jazzmen during the '60s and the '70s (the ending piece is entitled Nommo, referring to Dogons, not unlike the late Milford Graves' album with Don Pullen). Thomas Barrière tries to search the musical roots of the last century, tracking back to the source like a spawning salmon, leaping beyond his own culture to find the originating foundation of all popular music of the 20th century. Alkebulan is the pursuit of a musical "Urszene". And this matrix is in Africa, more specifically in Western Africa, considering its forced relationships with Western Europe, U.S., Caribbean and Brazil, due to triangular trades.