CD Review | Touman (Disques Nuits d’Afrique)

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Disques Nuits d’Afrique
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Touman
Dramane Konaté
Disques Nuits d’Afrique

On his new album Touman, Dramane Konaté continues his travels through several West African musical traditions. Drawing on the Mandingo tradition, the percussionist and master of the djembe draws from moments in African life. This collection is the fruit of several collaborations with musicians and singers of different artistic sensibilities, including Mamou Djelideni, Mariam Daou, Seydou Kourouma, Kabey Konaté and Dara Sanou, resulting in a diversity and rhythmic richness that is one of the collection’s strengths.

The album reflects the artistic serenity that Dramane Konaté is experiencing on the Montreal scene, his new home base, after his experiences in several African and European countries. This Ivory Coast-born percussionist of Burkinabè origin is currently brightening up Montreal evenings with his Faso Foly band, playing the bewitching sounds of the djembe, for which he has had a deep passion since his youth. This passion has led him on numerous musical journeys since the 1990s, including collaborations with leading artists in Africa and Europe, where he has developed considerable expertise and teaches African percussion and dance. This new album attests to the pedagogical dimension of this artist’s playing.