N'Faly Kouyate

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N'Faly Kouyate
Kouyate and Kora with the Afro Celt Sound System August 2007 Courtesy: Brian Marks August 2007
Background information
Origin	Siguiri, Guinea
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, kora, Balafon
Years active	1994–present
Associated acts	Afro Celt Sound System

N'Faly Kouyate is a Guinean musician. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group of West Africa. His father was the griot Konkoba Kabinet Kouyate, who lived in Siguiri, Guinea.

In 1994 Kouyate moved to Belgium and formed his ensemble Dunyakan (The Voice of the World). In 1997, he was invited to join the Afro Celt Sound System providing vocals, playing the kora, and balafon,^[1] collaborating with the others in the band to compose songs with an exceptionally unique world music sound, blending music from Ireland with that of West African countries including his native Guinea.

N'Faly Kouyaté's dexterity and elegance in impassioned playing the kora made him known as the "Jimi Hendrix of the kora". He is now working on his next album. Kouyaté, two times Grammy-nominated, winner of a golden disc, founded his own group in 1996: Dunyakan, "voice of the world". Six musicians from different cultures create a musical revolution by the mix of traditional Mandingo and modern western instruments embellished by African dance. N'Faly Kouyaté has played amongst others for the Olympic Games in Athens and the wife of Nelson Mandela.

References

External links

• N'Faly Kouyate article
• Dunyakan site
• Spinning around the source. Slumbering stories in and around Siguiri. Article by Rachel Laget based on anthropological field research. (www.xpeditions.eu)

See also

• Kora (instrument)

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