N’famady Kouyaté has been building an enthusiastic UK audience with his unique musical style since he relocated to Wales from Guinea in 2019. His primary instrument is the balafon – a traditional wooden xylophone, sacred to West African culture and his family heritage of the griot/djeli, and he fronts an indie/rock band. N’famady’s music is a blend of his West African heritage and western musical influences from the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Flaming Lips and 9Bach. His performances create vibrant & joyous atmospheres that are fuelled by his charisma and charm onstage, wielding balafon & guitar throughout the show with a masterful ease. Since coming to the UK, N’famady has been playing and touring extensively, with highlights being festival shows at The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, SXSW, Latitude main stage and many more. In 2023 he won the 2023 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, further signalling the bright future of this rising star.
N’famady Kouyaté is also our artistic director and an energetic master musician from Guinea, West Africa. Malinké in origin, born into a griot/djeli family; where the djeli have hereditary responsibility for preserving traditional Mandingue culture through the sharing of ancient rhythms, songs, and stories. N’famady is a master balafonist, singer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of Les Héritiers du Mandingue (a traditional Mandingue-modern fusion group in Guinea). N’famady is now resident in Cardiff, Wales, and has been working on a number of solo, band, and collaborative musical projects, as well as leading participatory music workshops.
For traditional performances and workshops N’famady can be booked via The Successors of the Mandingue above, however for his modern indie/rock fusion band please go to nfamady.com for more information.