KANUTÉ

THE MUSIC

So Festa

Djarabi Kanou

Ilo Bamba

Kassaka

Matomba

Baden Tonoma

SHOWS

French Cultural Centre, Bissau

Lusofonia Festival, Macau

Concert in Hamburg

HIS STORY

Born in Bafatá, Guinea Bissau, Sambala Kanuté is descended from a family of djidius (traditional storytellers) and has earned himself the sobriquet Lifante Garandi — or Big Elephant.

He began singing at the age of 6 with his parents; his father, Mamadou Kanuté, and his mother, Hadja Massa Sow, are griots of great renown in West Africa.

By the time he was 8, Sambala had learnt to play the balafon and guitar, and by the age of 10 he was being asked to perform at family ceremonies.