Toumaranke

Toumaranke are a mixture of Guinean & UK musicians with Moussa & Chris Sylla and Okameo Bangoura at its core. Currently a sevenpiece outfit we play traditional West African instruments to create a groovy and very dancable sound. Balafon led, with wonderful polyrhymic melodies our sound is fresh and unique. A comnination of traditional Weat African musical and songwriting forms with a modern take. We use balafon, krin, bolon, traditional drums and smaller hand percussion. We've just released our debut CD - Takhaudi Deqau - Inside The Chicken's Mouth, which was recorded with crowdfunding money in the Gambia in 2014 and released with more crowdfunding in England - co-produced by Chris Sylla and sound engineer Martin Messent.

Menbers: Core members Moussa Sylla - Guinea - band leader, writer, composer. Plays everything (except kora), Particularly superb krin player! Chris Sylla - UK - manager, organiser; main instruments balafon, shakers, drums, vocals. Mohammed (Okameo) Bangoura - Guinea - main encourager - plays most things but main instruments bolon and gongo, superb dancer. Yamoussa (Kossy) Camara - Guinea - bolon, gongo, drums, vocals. Currently working with griot balafon player, Mohammed Camara - Guinea and two of his students - Moise Bangoura - Guinea, and Souleymane Camara - Guinea.