WOMAD

Farafina

From Burkina Faso

Biography by Andy Morgan, July 2000:Past their twentieth anniversary and still going strong, Farafina demonstrate that rhythm in west Africa is a language as rich as the English of Shakespeare or Spanish of Frederico Garcia Lorca. Although prime mover and founding father Mahama Konate left the group back in 1991, the energy, skill, brilliance and virtuosity of the troupe hasn't diminished. The music of Farafina is a pan-west African blend performed on balafon, djembe drum, kora, bara, shekere and of course, the tama or talking drum which, tucked under the armpit and struck with the characteristic hooked stick by a virtuoso can talk the hind legs off the proverbial mule.Farafina's rhythms are polyphonic, irresistible and complex, combining influences from the group's native country Burkina Faso, as well as neighbouring Mali, Niger, Guinea and Senegal. Their gifts have been used by western devotees as varied as The Rolling Stones, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Jon Hassell. 2001 sees a new CD release, ‘Kanou’, recorded and produced by Thierry van Roy. If you're not one of those lucky souls attending classes at the group's music and dance school in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, then you're going to have to do your learning right here, at the WOMAD Festival.FARAFINA(Burkina Faso)BIOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY ARTIST MANAGEMENT, NOVEMBER 2001While touring all around the world for several years, the group FARAFINA from Burkina Faso has become a well known ambassador from this specially welcoming West African country.Master balafon player Mahama Konaté founded FARAFINA in the early eighties. Their authentic music is inspired by dance and traditional songs of griots. Right from the beginning of their touring in Europe they were enthusiastically welcomed by their audiences who were fascinated by so much virtuosity. Their music interweaves complex and forceful rhythms and is carried by the melodic lines of balafons, flute and koras. The songs are played on traditional instruments while their lyrics deal with present issues of African realities in a critical though hopeful way.During their odyssey of nearly 20 years the group naturally faced some changes. Thus, its founder Mahama Konaté left the group in 1991. Others came and went and still others died. New and younger musicians have joined the group. All came in through the so called "Farafina School" which continues the African tradition of having the children, from their youngest ages on, attend the concerts of their elders and trying to repeat the music they hear all day long. In this way an astonishing and remarkable musical continuity is guaranteed.The most outstanding aspect of FARAFINA is certainly their ability to expand their music without denying their traditional instruments. So, while integrating new orchestral forms and melodies, and adding contemporary sounds (guitar and keyboard), the balafons, koras, flute, djembes, tama, and baras still remain there. Last but not least, the arrival of a female voice with the griotte Fatoumata Dembele introduces a new colour to this up till now male only ensemble.DISCOGRAPHY2001 KANOU recorded and produced by Thierry van Roy To be released in October 20011998 NEMAKO produced by Michel Schaer and Thierry van Roy Intuition Music & Media (Ref. INT 3241 2)1993 FASO DENOU produced by Billy Cobham & Daniel Lanois Real World, distributed by Virgin/EMI (Ref. CDRW 35)1989 BOLOMAKOTE recorded in Cologne Intuition Music & Media (Ref INT 2026 2)Collaborations:1989 BEAUTY Collaboration of the Farafina rhythm section on three titles by Ryuichi Sakamoto (Ref. CDVUS 14) STEEL WHEELS The Rolling Stones invited FARAFINA to participate on the recording of Continental Drift (Ref. Rolling Stones Records 4657522)1988 FLASH OF THE SPIRIT This album is the fruit of a collaboration with the American avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell. Recorded in 1987 in New York after a series of concerts in Europe and New York. Produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Jon Hassell (Ref. INT 3009 2)F A R A F I N AThe musiciansFatoumata DEMBELELead vocal, vocals, chekere, danceBorn in 1972 in Bobo-DioulassoDaughter of a griot and griotte herself, Fatoumata Dembele inherited the tradition of musical messengers by accompanying her mother at ceremonies and rituals. Her father was a builder of balafons and also played them.At the age of 25 she fully worked as a griotte at ceremonies, rituals and festivities, often accompanied by djembe players but also with electrified orchestras.In 1998 she participated at a music festival in Bobo-Dioulasso organised by Souleymane Sanou. After her performance she was invited to join the group Farafina. She came to Europe for the first time in 1999.She sings, dances and plays small percussion.Her arrival contributes a welcome musical opening to the repertoire of Farafina.Soungalo COULIBALYFlute, vocalsBorn in 1954 at Badara in the province of Houet, Burkina FasoAs a child he was a herdsman filling his spare time by playing the flute. At 20 he arrived at Bobo and earned his living as a mason and as a blacksmith. At the same time he played the flute in different ensembles of Bobo-Dioulasso. In 1983 Mahama Konaté invited him to join Farafina.He also loves singing and turns out to be a perfect MC on stage with a highly individual dancing style. As a composer he came up with such titles as Mandela or Bi Mousso. Soungalo Coulibaly plays a Peul flute.Souleymane SANOU aka ManiDoumdouba, kora bass, chekere, vocalsBorn in 1956 in Bobo-Dioulasso, sector 6, BolomakotéMani was working independently as a tailor for several years, before, in 1976, he encountered Mahama Konaté, the later founder of FARAFINA, at a performance in a "cabaret", a traditional tavern. Mani was deeply touched by his music and followed him to ceremonies and festivals where he performed. Mani became a supporter even before Farafina was founded.Being a tailor he created the group's costumes after it was founded. At about the same time he put together a dancing ensemble called Dodje. They entered the competition at the "Semaine nationale de la culture" (national week of culture) several times and were quite successful, winning in 1982 the second prize and the first in 1984.Mahama Konaté, well aware of this success, confided the founding of a group called Farafina 2 to Mani. In 1986 Mani became a member of Farafina as a dancer before starting to play the doumdouba and later on the kora bass.Baba DIARRABalafon, baraBorn in 1947 in Nouna in the province of KossiGriot, grand-son and son of griots, Baba Diarra started playing with his family at a very young age. They daily played their music at ceremonies and rituals. He therefore inherited a rich repertory of traditional songs from his father.Baba Diarra left for Abidjan in 1978 where he accompanied Kalifa Diabaté, a famous Burkinabean balafon player.Upon his return in 1982 Baba joined FARAFINA and has been travelling with the group since 1985 as their second balafon player. He is an incredible time keeper.Harouna KOITAKeyboard, electric guitar, doumdouba, vocalsBorn in 1962 at Bobo-DioulassoSon of a griot he lost his mother at the age of seven. After this deeply touching event Harouna returned to live with his family in their country village. There he was initiated to the secrets of playing the balafon. His father, a griot, had a goni (kora) which nobody was allowed to touch. Harouna though disregarded this rule and taught himself to play the instrument in secret. One day his father caught him doing so. But as he heard with which talent his son played his melodies he allowed him to play the instrument. With his brothers Harouna played in "cabarets" and at celebrations such as funerals marriages.At the age of 12 he returned to Bobo where he learned to play the electric guitar. As a talented musician he played with different orchestras. Among them was the group Volta Jazz of Tidan Coulibaly, a big star in Burkina Faso and the group Wountey which had also performed in Europe.Eventually he joined Farafina in 1996 where he plays the keyboard and percussion and he sings, too.Salif KONEBalafon, kora bass, djembé, vocalsBorn in 1976 in Bobo-Dioulasso in the district of BolomakotéAlready while still going to school Salif learned to play the djembe. But quickly he was drawn to more melodious instruments, particularly the balafon.But his family didn't want him to become a musician because they didn't see a future in being a musician but also because playing music is reserved to griots. Salif who had a talent to skip his lessons in school was sent to Abidjan by his parents to live with one of his uncles and continue his studies.But he was contaminated by the music's virus and after two years young Salif returned to Burkina. He devoted himself to the balafon, learning to play it by himself since his father had warned all balafon masters to teach his son.Salif played with different groups from Bobo-Dioulasso before joining Farafina in 1996. As a talented multi-instrumentalist he has a terrific rhythmic sense.Adolphe KINDADjembé, bara, kora bass, vocalsBorn in 1975 in Bobo-Dioulasso, BolomakotéBolomakoté, district number 6 in Bobo-Dioulasso is a true breeding ground for musicians and that’s exactly the place where Adolphe grew up. His uncle who was one of the original members of Farafina gave him his first instrument, a drum made from a tin of condensed milk.Adolphe quickly became an expert in building instruments from recycled materials. But soon he moved on to real instruments, beginning with the bara which he played for almost six years, and then moving on to the djembe at the age of 14.In 1991 he came to Europe for the first time as a member of the group Atebe, a theatre company from Ouagadougou, and to Geneva in 1994 to teach dancing and percussion.He also played with the group of Diana Miranda and with Anisette from Cameroon.Adolphe joined Farafina in 1998.Bakari TRAOREKora lead, balafon, djembé, tama (talking drum), kolokolo, lead vocal, vocalsBorn in 1967 in OuroudaraLike most African children Bakari had been in contact with music from an early age. His father was a balafon player and Bakari at once fell in love with this instrument at the same time percussive and melodic. It didn’t take him long to feel comfortable with it and soon he found himself teaching balafon to his older brother five years his senior. He also learned to play other traditional instruments like the djembe, bara, tama and the kora, playing with his father in "cabarets" and at different ceremonies like funerals and marriages.At the age of 12 he joined the national ballet Coulédaforou which teaches adults and children to combine dance, theatre and music.At 17 he joined the Ensemble Instrumental Radiodiffusion et de la télévision du Burkina Faso (the Radio and TV orchestra) at Bobo-Dioulasso, later at 19 the Ensemble Instrumental Etoile Diwe of Bobo. Thanks to his membership in the latter he eventually joined Farafina 2 for two years before joining the main group in 1991.He plays mostly the kora and the balafon. But he can also be heard on percussion (djembe, tama, bara kolokolo).He is one of the principal composers of the group.Farafina (Burkina Faso)Biography provided by artist management, July 2000It is from the borders of what was once known as Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, that FARAFINA’s music originates. Authentic music, derived from the dances and lyrics of griots and from the passion of one man, Mahama KONATE who now has left the group since 1991.He was a former member of the National Ballet of Upper Volta and formed FARAFINA in 1978 and performed in West-Africa. Four years later, 1982, during their first European tour, FARAFINA was warmly received by a public which was dazzled by so much virtuosity and creativity. The most predominant feature of FARAFINA’s music is its subtle blend of binary and ternary rhythms which are produced by the complex beats of the percussion, the no less sophisticated motifs of the balafon and the Cora, the melodies of the flute Peûl and the vocals.All that is crucial in Africa in terms of music can be found at the heart of FARAFINA’s work. The rich polyphonic, polyrhythmic blend does not leave the listener indifferent, highlighting as it does all the essential foundations of West Africa’s musical patrimony. FARAFINA is also a school, in Bobo-Dioulasso where young people are trained by older, experienced musicians and also benefit from the experience of the « International » of FARAFINA. It is the same sharing of musical knowledge which has led the current line-up to integrate western influences into their own sound and to appeal to increasingly wider audiences.Reinvented by encounters with modernity, Mandingue influences, the music of Burkina Faso’s neighboring countries, the melodies of the people of Mali, Niger and the legends of Kong and the chants and drums of Ghana and Benin, all contributes to the richness of FARAFINA’S s work.FARAFINA is the sound of Africa dancing as it marches forwards. They are the drumming sorcerers.