N'Faly Kouyaté & Dunyakan

N'Faly Kouyaté & Dunyakan
  • country:Guinea
  • region:West Africa
  • style(s):Global Fusion, Merengue
  • label:Namun records
  • artist posted by:Kultur in der Landschaft

N’Faly Kouyate was born into one of the the most famous families of griots of the Mandingue, the region of West Africa which includes Guinea-Conakry, Mali, the Gambia, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. As one of the most charismatic performers of his generation, N’Faly is ideally placed to carry on the legacy of his father and also to help promote knowledge, enjoyment, and respect for his culture throughout the world. After brilliantly performing throughout Guinea since his University days, since arriving in Brussels he has worked tirelessly to achieve his aim on uniting cultures and bringing his own culture to others, through his music and performing, so that they can see its beauty.

He is the son of Konkoba Kabinet Kouyate of Siguiri in the Republic of Guinea. Konkoba is a rare grade of griot, superior among griots. This rare grade (there exist fewer than three in the world today) was acquired by Kabinet through achieving difficult tests and gaining a perfect mastery of the secrets of life, composed of its deep occult secrets and also all of the magic of the Mandingue world. N’Faly is joyfully following in the footsteps of his father, seeing his preordained role of griot as a responsibility and a means of explaining the beautiful Mandingue culture to the rest of the world. Through his performances, he uses music and storytelling as a way to open doors between different peoples, thereby further his goal of peace and unity among all people and cultures.

Formed in the most rigorous traditions of artists of West Africa, N’Faly opened his mind nonetheless at a very young age to universal forms of music, including jazz, world music, blues and techno. A highly accomplished musician, N’Faly is a marvelous singer, kora player, storyteller and balafonist, as well as an articulate spokesperson of the studies of these musics and of polyphony, of which he often lectures in Belgian universities. In 1997, Peter Gabriel’s Realworld Studios proposed to integrate him into their most successful ensemble, the Afro Celt Sound System. He accepted this invitation, and this has allowed him the opportunity to perform at many of the most prestigious festivals in Europe and North America, such as Glastonbury, Dranouter, the International Festival of Jazz in Montreal, the Summer Festival in Quebec, Werchter, Summerstage in NYC, the Couleur Café, the WOMAD Reading and Seattle Festivals, the WOMAD Festival in Australia, among others too numerous to list.

In 1999, the second CD by the Afro Celt Sound System, “Release,” was released to critical acclaim, a World Music Grammy nomination and gold record status in Ireland. N’Faly won extensive praise from all corners for his brilliant participation, contributions, and electrifying concert performances. Volume Three, “Further in Time,” has now been released and N’Faly is already garnering critical praise, not only for his exquisite kora playing, but for his arrangements as well as his compositional and vocal contributions. Volume Three has been nominated for a World Music Grammy as well.

In his solo career, he works extensively in Belgium and, indeed, throughout Europe, to teach the history of the Mandingue to all ages from 7 to 77. And, through these performances, he proposes to advance not only his culture, but his dream of the realization of understanding and tolerance among all cultures of the world. To this end, he works with his wife Muriel Finet Kouyate in their organization Namunkanda (The Defense of the Culture) which is expanding to the U.S. in 2002. Through Namunkanda, he hopes to realize his goal of making certain that all cultures’ contributions, both musically and culturally, be recognized and respected, and also that all ancient instruments, such as the kora, will continue to provide a rich cultural addition to today’s musical world.

Since 1997 he has also performed with the Chris Joris Experience and through this embraces his love of jazz; their 1998 CD “Live at Middleheim” won the “Prix Django D’or” award for that year.


He also pursues his career and goals through his work with his own ensemble Dunyakan (“The Voice of the World”) in which blues, world music, jazz and the traditional music of Guinea are intermingled. This is perhaps where his true heart lies. Their music includes traditional instruments such as the kora, djembe, balafon, and more traditional Western instruments such as the double bass and the drum battery. Their polyphonies are largely inspired by the music of Guinea, and their reliance on these lends a sweetness to the rhythms, giving Dunyakan a unique sound in the cadre of “world music.” N’Faly’s strong compositional skills give Dunyakan its own identity, intensely personal, formed by N’Faly’s strong ideals and dreams. They have performed throughout Belgium, France, England and Ireland and plan to tour in the UK and US in 2002, as well as throughout Europe and perhaps Africa and Asia. 2001 has seen the release of their CD, “N’Na Kandje,” which is currently being distributed internationally to critical acclaim.If you’ve ever seen or heard N’Faly’s spectacular and charismatic performances, whether with Dunyakan, solo, or with Afro Celt Sound System, be prepared to experience his world now in a beautifully crafted CD, where his virtuosity is apparent in his effusive and technically superb performance. His ensemble reflects and complements this vision perfectly--whether the superb djembe playing of Muriel Finet Kouyate, the dancer Sidonie Ndandu Madoki, the slightly occidental touch of the double bass of Nicolas L’Herbette, the battery of Toubarào or the percussions from Marc Makissa and traditional instruments as the krin in addition to kora and balafon.
The result is an exciting excursion into the heart of Mandingue culture, and into the heart of a man determined to keep that culture alive and vibrant in the world today.


Booking area whole Europe except GB, Ireland & Belgium