N’famady Kouyaté
“You could tell from N’Famady’s incredible performance, and the response to it, that he really is an emerging talent who deserves to be seen and heard by a much bigger audience.”
“… a kaleidoscope of vibrant sounds and colours, a mesmerizing and joyous introduction to a truly international artist”
N’famady Kouyaté is a young energetic master musician from Guinea, who relocated to Cardiff in 2019. Supporting Gruff Rhys on the Pang! album tour, the talented multi-instrumentalist wowed audiences across the UK and Ireland with his modern interpretations of traditional West African Mandingue songs and rhythms. N’Famady was the winner of the ‘2023 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition’.
N’famady’s primary instrument is the balafon – the traditional wooden xylophone, sacred to West African culture and his family heritage of the griot/djeli. In Guinea he founded Les Héritiers du Mandingue, a tradi-modern group that toured extensively in West Africa. In the UK, N’famady has played both as a solo artist and with a full band line up – where his arrangements are a fusion of Mandingue African with western jazz, pop, indie, and funk influences provided by an ever-evolving collective of musicians.
N’famady released his first EP in July 2021. The EP features mash-ups of traditional Guinean songs with new Welsh lyrics, modern and traditional instrumentation, played by a ten-piece band. N’famady’s performances create amazing atmospheres and vibrations wherever he goes, and audiences are charmed by his infectious enthusiasm and joy.
N’FAMADY KOUYATÉ headlines The De Valence on Saturday 22 March, see schedule here