Kandia Kouyaté (also known as Kandja Kouyaté, born in 1959
in
Kita,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
) is a
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
an ''jelimuso'' (a female
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
) and
kora player; she has earned the prestigious title of ''ngara'', and is sometimes called ''La dangereuse'' and ''La grande vedette malienne''. Kouyaté's dense, emotional, hypnotic manner of singing and her lyrical talents have earned huge acclaim in
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, though she remained relatively little known outside Africa, due to extremely limited availability of her recordings. Her home town of
Kita is known for love songs, which form a large part of Kouyaté's repertoire. She also sings
praise song
Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are f ...
s.
Kouyaté's career began in the early 1980s, when she started using female choral vocals accompanying her. This practice was later picked up by stars like
Mory Kante Mory is the name or part of the name of three communes of France:
*Mory, Pas-de-Calais in the Pas-de-Calais ''département''
*Mory-Montcrux in the Oise ''département''
*Mitry-Mory in the Seine-et-Marne ''département''
Mory is also the name of two ...
and
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali.
Biography Early life
Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...
, and is now an integral part of
Malian music
The music of Mali is, like that of most African nations, ethnically diverse, but one influence predominates: that of the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka people, Mandinka (from c. 1230 to c. 1600). Mandé peoples, Mande people (Bambara, Mandin ...
. In 1983, she recorded two
vinyl discs, ''Amary Daou présente Kandia Kouyaté'' and ''Kandja Kouyaté et
L’Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali''. Her debut solo album is ''Kita Kan''.
Kandia Kouyaté toured Europe in 1999 alongside Guinean singers Sekouba Bambino & Oumou Diabate and with a 12 piece West African ensemble that included kora, djembe, ngoni, balafon, bass, keyboards, backing vocals and percussion. The tour named as 'The Griot Groove Tour' included concerts in Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Kandia Kouyaté suffered a stroke in late 2004.
Eyre, Banning . World Music Productions; Afropop Worldwide, ''Kandia Kouyaté''
, cited 31 July 2006. In 2015, she recorded again.
Discography
*''Mayomba'' (1980, local cassette release)
*''Balassama / Sarama'' (1983, LP, produced by Amary Daou)
*''Kandja Kouyaté et L’Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali'' (1983, LP)
*''OUA 84'' (1984, local cassette release)
*''Projet Dabia'' (1987, local cassette release)
*''Sa Kunu Sa'' (1994, local cassette release)
*''Kita Kan'' (1999, CD, Stern's STCD 1088)
*''Biriko'' (2002, CD, Stern's STCD 1095)
*''Ngara'' (2009, compilation tracks 1999/1984/1981)
*Symphonie Mandingue au Daniel Sorano a Dakar (2011, CD, Elite Production, BP2143)
* ''Renaissance'', (2015)
References
External links
*
A brief bio
Malian Kora players
1959 births
20th-century Malian women singers
Living people
People from Kita, Mali
21st-century Malian women singers
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