SAMBALA'S 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.

In 1982, he got together with his sister Fatou and brothers Djali Bakar and Baba Kanuté and formed the group Kanuté Kunda (Kanuté Family).

National success quickly followed, and Sambala and Kanuté Kunda became ambassadors for Guiné-Bissau at music festivals in North Korea and China in 1983, and in Moscow in 1984.

In 1988 Sambala recorded Só Festa, his signature song that to this day gets audiences on their feet. It is one of the emblematic songs of Guinean music.

By the 1990s, Sambala had established himself as a big presence in Mandinka music, and a solo career beckoned.

His first album, Baden Tonoma, came out in 1995. Recorded in France, it was produced by Kaba Mane and had as lead guitarist the legendary Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabaté, former member of the Guinean band Bembeya Jazz National.

"The release of this CD was a milestone in my career," Sambala has said. "I remember that the concert centre in Saint-Denis, the heart of Paris, was packed with people. This contributed to the success of this album in some European capitals, and it was among the most listened-to albums."

The year 2008 saw the release of Contela, the album that fused Sambala's Mandinka sound with the uptempo zouk style popular in the French Antilles.

His latest album, Djalikeba, was recorded in 2021 in Portugal and mastered in France. It achieves an incredible balance between past and present as it blends traditional music with contemporary influences ranging from pop to the blues.

Sambala Kanuté, with a career of more than 40 years, is one of the finest voices in West Africa. From him emanates the tropical sound of the traditions of the region, the melodies of the kora and guitar intertwining with the sonorous tones of the master bringing to life the ancestry in his veins.