Famoudou Konaté is a Malinké master drummer from Guinea. He is a virtuoso of the djembe drum and its orchestra. One of only a handful of initiated masters of the Malinké drumming tradition, Famoudou is universally respected as one of the world’s premiere djembe master drummers.
He has dedicated his life to performing and preserving the music of his people, helping to elevate the djembe orchestra from its traditional roots to worldwide popularity.
Famoudou was born in 1940 near Sangbaralla, a village in the Hamana region of Upper Guinea, the Malinké heartland and the birthplace of the dundunba family of rhythms. A percussive prodigy, he was drumming in community festivals at the age of eight and was soon in demand as a djembefola across the region.
From 1959 to 1987, Famoudou was the lead djembe soloist for Les Ballets Africains de la République de Guinée, touring the world and performing with astounding virtuosity. During this time, Famoudou himself created many of the musical arrangements now common in West African performance groups worldwide.
In 1986 and 1987, Konaté began his independent teaching career at the same time he was working still for the “Les Ballets Africains” in Conakry. Famoudou, has teached and performed annually throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, North America and West Africa, instilling a generation of non-African drummers with an extraordinary level of training.
In 1996, he received an honorary professorship in Didactics of African Musical Practice from the University of the Arts Berlin.
Discography
1991: Rhythmen Der Malinke
1996: Hamanah (Mamady Keita & Famoudou Konate)
1997: Rhythms and Songs from Guinea (Book + CD)
1998: Guinée: Percussions et Chants Malinké
2001: Hamana Föli Kan
2003: Guinée: Percussions et Chants Malinké: Volume 2
2004: Hamana Mandenkönö
2008: Hamana Namun
Videography
1991: Djembefola (participation)
1998: Mögöbalu (participation)
2010: Malinke: Rhythms, Dances, and Songs of Guinea (DVD)
2017: Famoudou Konaté & Ensemble – Live in Bonn (14.07.2017)
2019: Famoudou Konaté & Ensemble – Live in Bonn (19.06.2019)
Books
1997: Rhythms and Songs from Guinea (Book + CD)
2001: Mein Leben – meine Djembe – meine Kultur (Autobiography)