Artists

When born a Cissoko, one is a kora player. The Guinean Ba Cissoko perpetuates a more than centenary history. He is the last born of a long lineage of griots, master singers and agile string pluckers.

Ba Cissoko knows all the codes and secrets of tradition. He estimates its reach, for read more

Guinean singer and composer Djeli Moussa Diawara is foremost among world players of the kora, the African harp-lute of the Manding people of the Senegambia. Born in Guinea in 1962 into a family whose musical roots span generations, his father was a famous player of the balafon read more

In the port city of Marseilles, home to many a nomadic soul, Joe Driscoll first met Sekou Kouyate. The two were paired up to collaborate at the French festival 'Nuit Metis' (Nights of Mixed Race), and though they shared no spoken common language, they encountered no obstacles communicating through read more

Karyna Gomes is a singer and songwriter who started at the age of 21 by singing gospel music in 1997 in São Paulo, Brazil, while she studied journalism.

Her passion for music came earlier as she grew up surrounded by musicians in Guinea-Bissau, listening to traditional and urban read more

N'faly Kouyaté was born in Siguiri and grew up in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. As son of the famous “Konkoba” Kabinet Kouyaté from Guinea, N’Faly Kouyaté was brought up traditionally as a djeli (griot), an ambassador of the Mandingo culture. Thus, he stands in line with the read more

The intoxicating Taffetas sound is built around the kora (West African harp-like instrument) and the Swiss duo of Marc Liebeskind (guitar) and Christophe Erard (double bass), who also take the compositional credits. Their shows in Zanzibar will feature Cheikh "Nana" Sisokko (Guinea Bissau) on kora and Fatoumata Dembele (Burkina Faso) read more