Touré Kunda is a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese band, noted for their musical versatility and political activism. Their 40-year career encompasses recordings in over six languages and collaborations with well-known musicians such as

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

. They have had considerable success in Africa and Europe and are active in social causes such as

children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

and advocates for the homeless.

Biography

Born twenty-two days apart in 1950 in

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). It ...

Casamance , settlement_type = Geographical region , image_skyline = Senegal Casamance.png , image_caption = Casamance in Senegal , image_flag = Flag of Casamance.svg , image_shield = , motto ...

, Senegal, Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré were introduced to music by their elder brother Amadou, a singer and musician. They moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, in 1979 to complete their musical education. They worked their way up in the Parisian scene. The group sings in Soninké,

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

, Mandingo,

Diola The Jola or Diola (endonym: Ajamat) are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. The main dialect of the Jola langu ...

, and

Portuguese creole Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have Portuguese as their substantial lexifier. The most widely-spoken creoles influenced by Portuguese are Cape Verdean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole and Papiamento. Origins Portuguese overseas exp ...

, reflecting the multilingual mixture of the people of Casamance. Their first album, ''Ismaïla do Sixu,'' was released in 1979. It was followed by ''É'mma Africa'' in 1980 and ''Touré Kunda'' in 1981. In 1985, following the death of their brother and mentor Amadou, Ismael and Sixu Tidiane toured throughout Africa. Upon returning to France, they found considerable success and critical acclaim among the French music press. In 1992, they were invited to play for

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

at the Courtyard of Human Rights. In 1999, their album ''Légendes'', a retrospective of their 20-year career, was released. Shortly thereafter, they participated in

's album '' Supernatural'' and toured with him. A

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album, ''Best Of'', was released in 2006. Another album, ''Santhiaba'', came out in 2008. Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré are members of the sponsoring committee of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World The United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and ...

. On 27 February 2023, Ismaïla died in

, France, at the age of 73.

Discography

* 1980: ''É'mma Africa'' * 1981: ''Touré Kunda'' * 1983: ''Amadou Tilo'' * 1984: ''Casamance au clair de lune'' (Toure Kunda - distribution:

Wagram Music Wagram Music is a French independent record company based in Paris, with offices in Berlin and Los Angeles. Record company Wagram's catalog covers various music genres such as French pop, Rock and Pop, world, electronic music, Reggae, Soul, J ...

) * 1984: ''Paris Ziguinchor'' (Live) (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 1985: ''Natalia'' * 1986: ''Toubab Bi'' (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 1987: ''Best of Touré Kunda'' (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 1988: ''Karadindi'' * 1990: ''Salam'' * 1991: ''Sounké'' (Live) * 1992: ''Sili Beto'' * 1996: ''Mouslai'' (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 1996: ''The Touré Kunda Collection'' (

Putumayo World Music Putumayo World Music is a New Orleans-based record label that specializes in compilations of world music, jazz and blues. History Dan Storper founded Putumayo in 1975 as a retail store in New York City featuring handicrafts from around the wo ...

) * 1999: ''Légende'' (Compilation,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

) * 2000: ''Terra Saabi'' (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 2008: ''Santhiaba'' (Toure Kunda - distribution: Wagram Music) * 2018: ''Lambi Golo''

References

Bibliography

* Nathalie Steinberg, ''Touré Kunda'', Paris, Encre, 1985

External links

Official site

Biography at RFI Musique
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toure Kunda Senegalese musical groups Family musical groups

Biography

Discography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links