AMADOU KIENOU

Master drummer Amadou Kienou hails from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa, once part of the vast ancient Mandingo Empire. A descendant of the Dafin people, Amadou was initiated as a djeli or griot (an oral historian), one of a long line of griots whose role is to preserve and transmit their people’s history, culture, and values.

Nowadays, bringing the traditional to the contemporary, Amadou delights international audiences with his unique polyrhythmic expression of emotions and memories.

The djembe is Amadou’s principal instrument. As he describes it, “the djembe is more than a musical instrument; it is an extension of the musician through which he expresses his life, his emotions.” Mastery of the djembe requires a lifetime of discipline and dedication, and the guidance of a djembe master, provided, in Amadou’s case, primarily by his father, the late revered Baba Kienou. Amadou plays several other traditional African instruments – the dunduns, the n’goni, and the tama, not to mention the Western guitar and drum set.

DICKO FILS

Born in 1975 in a village close to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, West Africa, Moulaye Dicko (known by his stage name, Dicko Fils), is the sixth of 14 children, and the son of a Peulh cattle trader. As a youth, while studying the Koran in Mali, a centre of the Mandingo musical tradition, Dicko was inspired by some of Africa’s great vocal artists – Oumou Sangaré, Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, and Baaba Maal. The adolescent Dicko, having moved to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast in 1992, adopted reggae to channel his musical traditions and express his unique spirit. Success with his band, Le Faso Kanou, allowed him to drop his back-up sewing job and, in 2005, release his first album, Tounga, a blend of reggae and Mandingo blues. Drawn back to his roots and homeland, Burkina Faso, he rebuilt his band, mixing modern and traditional instruments. A drum set and bass and lead guitars appeared alongside the balafon, djembe, tamani, and the kamalé n’goni at which Dicko himself excelled. Added to this rich mix were two singer-dancers. Thanks to an impressive melodic and vocal range and his incorporation of local rhythms from the Dioula and Peulh people, Dicko Fils’ reputation spread rapidly throughout West Africa, bolstered by the release of albums in 2007, 2010, and 2012. The media went wild over his 2014 album, Fina Tawa, composed entirely in the Fulfulde and Peulh languages. The title track, “Denke Denke” soon dominated dance floors. As Dicko explains, “The song was sung by Ali Farka Touré and Oumou Sangaré. But I told myself that people love Peulh music, yet it is not played and danced everywhere. I thought about how to make Peulh music everywhere. I made a mix of modern and traditional music and, thank God, Peulh music is everywhere.” His latest album, Wakati, appeared in 2016. Dicko Fils’ artistic talents have made him a regular guest at cultural festivals in Burkina Faso and beyond, such as the Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO), the International Art and Craft Fair (SIAO), National Culture Week (SNC) , Les Nuits Atypiques de Koudougou (NAK), Jazz à Ouaga, the Saga Musik Festival, WEELTARE, and the Cultural and Horse Festival of Barani (FECHIBA). As well, Dicko has provided musical production in theatrical creations such as Récréatrales and Un Village Dans Une Ville. The year 2017 will see Dicko touring in Canada and the USA.Dicko Fils – Biography Life and Career Born in 1975 in a village close to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, West Africa, Moulaye Dicko (known by his stage name, Dicko Fils), is the sixth of 14 children, and the son of a Peulh cattle trader. As a youth, while studying the Koran in Mali, a centre of the Mandingo musical tradition, Dicko was inspired by some of Africa’s great vocal artists – Oumou Sangaré, Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, and Baaba Maal. The adolescent Dicko, having moved to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast in 1992, adopted reggae to channel his musical traditions and express his unique spirit. Success with his band, Le Faso Kanou, allowed him to drop his back-up sewing job and, in 2005, release his first album, Tounga, a blend of reggae and Mandingo blues. Drawn back to his roots and homeland, Burkina Faso, he rebuilt his band, mixing modern and traditional instruments. A drum set and bass and lead guitars appeared alongside the balafon, djembe, tamani, and the kamalé n’goni at which Dicko himself excelled. Added to this rich mix were two singer-dancers. Thanks to an impressive melodic and vocal range and his incorporation of local rhythms from the Dioula and Peulh people, Dicko Fils’ reputation spread rapidly throughout West Africa, bolstered by the release of albums in 2007, 2010, and 2012. The media went wild over his 2014 album, Fina Tawa, composed entirely in the Fulfulde and Peulh languages. The title track, “Denke Denke” soon dominated dance floors. As Dicko explains, “The song was sung by Ali Farka Touré and Oumou Sangaré. But I told myself that people love Peulh music, yet it is not played and danced everywhere. I thought about how to make Peulh music everywhere. I made a mix of modern and traditional music and, thank God, Peulh music is everywhere.” His latest album, Wakati, appeared in 2016. Dicko Fils’ artistic talents have made him a regular guest at cultural festivals in Burkina Faso and beyond, such as the Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO), the International Art and Craft Fair (SIAO), National Culture Week (SNC) , Les Nuits Atypiques de Koudougou (NAK), Jazz à Ouaga, the Saga Musik Festival, WEELTARE, and the Cultural and Horse Festival of Barani (FECHIBA). As well, Dicko has provided musical production in theatrical creations such as Récréatrales and Un Village Dans Une Ville. The year 2017 will see Dicko touring in Canada and the USA.

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AMADOU KIENOU

Le maître percussioniste Amadou Kienou est originaire de Ouagadougou, au Burkina Faso, en Afrique de l’Ouest, qui faisait autrefois partie du vaste empire mandingue. Descendant du peuple Dafin, Amadou a été initié comme djeli ou griot (historien oral), faisant partie d’une longue lignée de griots dont le rôle est de préserver et de transmettre l’histoire, la culture et les valeurs de leur peuple.

Aujourd’hui, en alliant le traditionnel au contemporain, Amadou enchante le public international avec son expression polyrythmique unique des émotions et des souvenirs.

Le djembé est l’instrument principal d’Amadou. Comme il le décrit, “le djembé est plus qu’un instrument de musique ; c’est une extension du musicien à travers laquelle il exprime sa vie, ses émotions”. La maîtrise du djembé exige une vie entière de discipline et de dévouement, ainsi que les conseils d’un maître du djembé, fournis, dans le cas d’Amadou, principalement par son père, le regretté et vénéré Baba Kienou. Amadou joue de plusieurs autres instruments traditionnels africains – les dunduns, le n’goni et le tama, sans oublier la guitare et la batterie occidentales.

DICKO FILS

« J’essaie de faire un mélange tradi-moderne pour que notre musique soit écoutée et dansée ». L’intention de Dicko Fils, légitimée par sa voix couvrant plusieurs octaves, n’est rien de moins que de promouvoir les traditions Peulh et Dioula partout dans le monde en les rendant accessibles à tous les publics. Ce maître du ngoni, fait Chevalier de l’Ordre du mérite par le ministère burkinabè de la culture, a roulé sa bosse au Mali et en Côte d’ivoire, touchant au Reggae et aux rythmes Wassoulou et s’inspirant des plus grands comme Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré et Ali Farka Touré, avant de revenir au pays et de prendre position pour la démocratisation de sa culture musicale, y adjoignant notamment des rythmes populaires tels que le coupé-décalé. Une approche qui lui a valu une ribambelle de prix en Afrique de l’Ouest.