Manding Music | Manding Grooves

Famoro Dioubate

master balafon player, composer, arranger, and band leader of Kakande

Based in New York City since 1999, Famoro plays solo, in duets, and with his Manding Groovy band, Kakande. Kakande mixes profound and sacred West African traditional griot music with some of the hottest musicians in New York today. They play regularly in Harlem at the Shrine World Music Café as well as in festivals throughout the city such as Celebrate Brooklyn. Famoro has also played with world-famous Mory Kanté and Angelique Kidjo, and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Joe’s Pub, The Met, and other museums and universities across the country.

Famoro Dioubaté's Kakande at Shrine World Music Venue, Harlem, NY. They play there regularly since 2012.

Famoro Dioubate, solo at the opening of the African Origins of Civilization, The Met Museum, December 2021.

Famoro Dioubaté (balafon) and Kevin Nathaniel (shékéré and mbira (thumb Piano) live at Union Square 2022.

Kakande plays "Kakande" at Shrine, one of their crowd-pleasers.

About Famoro

About Kakande

Famoro Diouabté is recognised as one of West Africa’s most talented and graceful balafonists. Hailing from Conakry, Guinea, He comes from a long family lineage of griots (or jeli in Malinké), African oral historians and musicians who played in the royal courts since the 13th century.

A regular on the roster, each month, Famoro's Kakande lights up Shrine World Music venue in Harlem, New York. Arguably the best, long-standing West African dance band outside of Africa since Bembeya Jazz, their loyal fans come out to dance the night away. Famoro started Kakande in 2006 with a CD release party at S.O.B.s featuring the late, great

His Instrument: The balafon is a 23-key wooden xylophone in diatonic scale, crafted by hand in the Guinean countryside. The music forms delightful, looping cross-rhythmic melodies that shift shapes as Famoro emphasises different parts of the song. Griot music is composed for deep listening; the griot sculpts and improvises each song based on the listeners present, in effect creating a dialogue that is meant to be both intellectually challenging and emotionally provocative.

Mory Kanté. The music combines traditional Manding griot songs such as those of the late Sory Kandia Kouyaté, re-arranged to combine balafon with modern instruments such as guitar, bass, and drumset played by longtime band members and musical extraordinaries Andy Algire, Sean Dixon, and Raul Rothblatt. The band often welcomes guest artists on kora, tama talking drum, and more, this band sets the groove for an evening of splendor that is sure to inspire its listeners to dance the night away.

His Lineage: On his father’s side, Famoro descends from the prestigious Dioubaté family of the Kankan region, in Guinea. On his mother’s side, he descends from the great Kouyaté family, the first jeli family named by the great emperor Soundiata Keita in 1235CE. His maternal grandfather, the late El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyaté, was a world renowned balafonist, Chef d'Orchestre, and jeli to President Sekou Touré. With this pedigree, Famoro was one of the youngest to play in the National Ensemble Instrumental de Guinée. But quickly, he was swept up to play internationally, first in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, followed by Australia, Fiji, Europe, Canada, and ultimately in the United States, where he makes his home.

His Resumé, in brief:

Famoro has performed with contemporary musical ensembles and artists from Guinea and Mali, including Sekouba Bambino, Mory Kante, and Sekouba Kandia Kouyate, current Chef d'Orchestre of the Ensemble Instrumental de Guinée. He participated in artistic residencies in France in 1994, and since coming to New York City in 1999, he has collaborated in educational programs at the Juilliard School and performed at the MET (2021). He reinterpreted a Peter Gabriel song for a compilation, he records with Ruben Gonzalez, the list goes on and on. His band Kakande plays in music festivals such as Celebrate Brooklyn!