Traditional music and dance
To approach traditional Guinean music is above all to look at the communities that make up the country. Starting with the main one: the Malinke (or Mandingo). The name Malinké means "the man who comes from Mali", the Malinké being the dominant ethnic group of the Mali empire. In Guinea, they represent about 30% of the population and live in the savannahs of upper Guinea. Their traditions are naturally an important part of Guinean musical practice.
One of the most striking aspects of Manding culture is the importance of the djéli, the griots (itinerant singer-historians) who are both bearers of the word, myths and legends, and intermediaries and arbiters in social conflicts. The djéli occupies an important place in Guinean society. The families of griots transmit the history of the country from father to son through stories, tales and music. Many griots are masters of traditional instruments such as the kora or the balafon, and their music serves as a support for their words. One contemporary Guinean djéli who is known for having superbly modernized the tradition is Ba Cissoko. On his album Electric Griot Land, the kora becomes electric and the melodies mesmerizing, almost hypnotic.
The kora, which resembles a child of the lute and the harp, is the emblematic instrument of Malinke music. Some Guineans have the reputation of being virtuosos, such as M'Bady Kouyaté, also known for having directed the prestigious National Traditional Symphony Ensemble of the Republic of Guinea, Djeli Moussa Condé, who takes the kora to another dimension, or Kandia Kora, son of M'Bady Kouyaté, who modernizes the instrument by inviting it into rap and reggae.
Apart from the kora, Mandinka music includes the ngoni (a plucked string instrument), the balafon (a kind of xylophone played by El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyaté and Mory Kanté), the djabara, a large calabash surrounded by a braided net of seeds, the mbira, a small "thumb piano", and the n'tama, a shoulder drum. A collection of instruments that is not uncommon to come across in the Mamaya, this traditional Malinke festival where men and women dance to slow and majestic rhythms. The Mamaya of Kankan has become a major cultural event that takes place once a year during the Tabaski festival.
In the Fouta region, the land of the Fulani, the emblematic instrument is the tambin, a three-hole transverse flute whose name comes from the plant used to make it. Traditionally carved by hand from a variety of reeds, it is now most often made from a millet stem (or even metal) of about 30 cm.
Finally, in the forest region around Nzérékoré, the Kpelle (pronounced "kpellé") hold a pêle, an event with a strong social component that combines singing and choreography.
Guinea is a country of dancers and has many traditional ballets, both public and private, which perform regularly in the capital. Gbassikolo, Sourakhata, Merveilles de Guinée, Wassasso, Ballet de Matam are some of the names to watch out for if you want to see a good dance performance in Conakry.
Among the public institutions, apart from the very traditional Ballets africains (to be seen at the Palais du Peuple), the other major entity is the Ballet national Djoliba. Created by Sékou Touré and Harry Belafonte (yes, yes) at the time of the country's independence, the ensemble maintains today the objective it has always set for itself: to defend the Mandingo identity through the setting in music and dance of the legends and tales of the Mandé.
Popular music
While the country distinguished itself by becoming the first in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa to celebrate its independence in 1958, Guinea also distinguished itself very quickly by its nationalist cultural policy. As part of a global desire to break with the past, President Sékou Touré wanted to turn the page on the colonial period - during which the country listened to a lot of imported music - and move towards a music with a more pronounced, better defined Guinean identity.
Thus, in 1959, the first ensemble with national status was created: the "Syli Orchestre National", bringing together the best instrumentalists in the country. The objective was clear: no more repeats or non-Guinean aesthetics, it was now necessary to draw from the heritage and modernize it. This movement to return to one's roots and to incorporate traditional practices into the composition was called "authenticity", a policy that lasted until the death of Sékou Touré in 1984 and that led to the birth and multiplication of "functionalized" ensembles (each region receiving funds to pay the artists and maintain the equipment).
Very quickly, the Syli national orchestra became so large that it split into two entities: the Orchestre de la Paillote and the Orchestre du Jardin de Guinée, which became pillars of the Guinean scene in no time. At the same time, the Amazones de Guinée - the women's band of the gendarmerie (stars in the making) - appeared simultaneously, as well as the famous Bembeya Jazz, one of the first groups to be recorded in Guinea in the 1960s and the one that would undoubtedly make Guinean music the most famous in the world.
Beyond the artistic aspect, the government also quickly used these artists and ensembles as propaganda organs to convey its message and ideology. Thus, one regularly hears national orchestras pushing for literacy as well as feeding the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist fiber. Internationally, these orchestras have served as Guinean soft power, with the best ensembles such as Bembeya Jazz playing on stages around the world and becoming ambassadors for their country.
This unprecedented policy has allowed a musical avant-garde of unparalleled vitality to emerge on the African continent and musicians such as Balla Onivogui, Keletigui Traoré, Momo Wandel and Kerfala Papa Diabaté have been able to benefit from quality training and to become great musicians thanks to it.
What remains of this policy and "authenticity" today? If current groups such as the Espoirs de Coronthie or the Étoiles de Boulbinet are immediate heirs to the music of these federal or state ensembles of the time, the commitment of the state to the artists is no longer what it was. Henceforth, the artists are forced to go through self-production, which has not prevented excellent artists such as Mory Kanté to exist and shine on the world stage since the 1980s.
The latter is without doubt the most popular Guinean musician in Europe. Born in Kissidougou in the 1950s, into a family of griots, he lived in Abidjan, then musically very active, before leaving to record a first album in Los Angeles and then going to France to conquer Europe. There, his original style, mixing the kora with the synthesizer, quickly made him known to the general public (through the huge success of the song Yéké Yéké). It must be said that his arrival coincided with the advent of world music, a mixture of traditional rhythms from all over the world and modern sounds, rock, funk, jazz or electronic - something that Mory Kanté had anticipated. From that time on, the electric griot had a huge success and tours followed one another. On July 14, 1990, on a large stage in the heart of Central Park and in front of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, Mory Kanté, the former undocumented immigrant, represented France alongside Khaled. Mory Kanté soon became independent as a producer and released a series of albums(Tatebola in 1997, Tamala in 2002 and Sabou in 2004) and major international tours.
Although they are less numerous, Guinean artists are not invisible. The obstacles come from Guinean society, which - except when they come from a griot family - does not view women exposing themselves to an audience.
That being said, many Guinean artists have been and are known, starting with the famous Amazons of Guinea. After them, Oumou Dioubaté, the "Dame Chic Choc" from a Djeli family, Binta Laly Sow, a Peul diva, Sonna Tata Condé, a more Afro-pop artist, and the ebullient Sayon Camara, the first African singer to be nominated as a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2002, have all made their mark.
Current music
On the other hand, Guinean women have managed to establish themselves more widely in contemporary music. One of the first women's hip-hop groups was Ideal Black Girls, formed by high-school girls in the 1990s, who went on to become one of the country's R&B stalwarts. Feminist, capable of tackling difficult subjects such as female circumcision, the group sang in four languages: Sousou, Maninka, Poular and French. Although the group disappeared (after a comeback in 2009), it paved the way for other Guinean women in hip-hop. Starting with Ashley, a rising figure on the Guinean rap scene with a sharp tongue. Writing in Peul, Aïcha Bah (real name) uses her pen and voice to defend the cause of women and children, tackling social issues such as polygamy and pedophilia. In a growing rap scene, she plays alongside artists such as Khady Diop, Sister Lessa, Banlieuz'art, Gnamakalah and Djanii Alfa. The latter is known as the great Guinean militant rapper. A fighter against the excesses of the Alpha Condé regime, his lyrics denounce repression and defend democracy. A commitment and a formula combining American rap and Guinean traditions that have opened up stages all over the world to him.
After rap, reggae is also enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Guinea. Alpha Wess initiated the movement and now seems to be a little behind the times. But the next generation is assured. Several figures have emerged on the Conakryka scene. These include Takana Zion and Élie Kamano.
The former, Takana, has enjoyed a meteoric rise; his itinerary is that of a gifted musician, galvanized in his apprenticeship by decisive encounters, including that of Tiken Jah Fakoly, who took him under his wing in Bamako. This training tour took him to Ghana, then to Burkina, where he met Makkalox, Pierpoljak's guitarist. Part of their association resulted in Zion Prophet, his first album.
As for Élie Kamano, after a difficult start on the rap scene and several musical experiences outside Guinea, his reggae career really took off in the 2000s with the release of the album Trafiquant in 2005, featuring Tiken Jah Fakoly and Les Espoirs de Coronthie. Then in 2006, the album Djélimankan marked his consecration and his political commitment. Since then, his popularity has spread beyond the Guinean borders, and he has become a firm fixture on the West African reggae scene.
On a more dancehall note, let's not forget to mention Lyricson, with his international career. His voice is well known in France, where he regularly collaborates with local artists such as Assassin and Sniper.
In rap, reggae or dancehall, a good way to see the best the country has to offer is to visit the Festival des Musiques urbaines de Guinée. Held every year all over Conakry (notably on Gbessia beach), the festival features numerous concerts by Guinean and international artists.
Other artists to keep a close eye on include Manamba Kanté, a big name in Guinean soul, Oudy1er, a coupé-décalé artist known as the inventor of the tchoumakaya dance, Azaya, Afro pop steeped in Guinean traditions, as well as Lévi Bobo and the group Instinct Killers, and Soul Bang, R&B.
Sia Tolno and Moh Kouyaté are also regularly heard in France. The former is a superb Afrobeat artist who has collaborated with genre veteran Tony Allen, while the latter offers blues-rock inspired by legendary Guinean groups such as Bembeya Jazz.
