N’famady Kouyaté

WALES | 2021 PARTICIPANT

N’famady Kouyaté is a young master musician from Guinea (Conakry), now based in the UK. A talented multi-instrumentalist who wowed audiences across the UK and Ireland during autumn/winter 2019/20 with his modern interpretations of traditional West African Mandingue songs and rhythms supporting Gruff Rhys on the Pang! album tour. N’famady’s primary instrument is the balafon – a traditional wooden xylophone, sacred to West African culture and his family heritage of the griot.

N’famady plays both as a solo artist and with a full band line up as The Successors of the Mandingue – where his arrangements are a fusion of Mandingue African and western European jazz, pop, and funk influences provided by an ever-evolving collective of musicians. Instrumentation includes balafon, keyboards, drumkit, djembe, lead guitar, bass guitar, kora, doundoun, congas, saxophone, trumpet, and callabash. N’famady’s performances create amazing atmospheres and vibrations wherever he goes, and audiences are charmed by his infectious enthusiasm and joy.