Siphesihle Nkwanyana

Manzini, Swaziland (IFS) -- Siphesihle Nkwanyana is a bubbly and charismatic television presenter, actress and singer from Swaziland. 

She is also an MC, vocalist, public speaker, ambassador for corporate social responsibility programs. She was born at Elangeni in Lobamba but was raised at Havelock Mine where she did both her primary and secondary education. 

Her music career began in 2003 with top country music star Isaac Gamedze. Isaac discovered her talent and asked her to join him. Her success broadened when she was chosen to be the newsreader at Swazi TV, subsequently followed by her new role in 2010 as the host/presenter at the ‘Kusile Breakfast Show’ on Swazi TV.

Despite having sung Afro-jazz songs in many functions, Nkwanyana has a soft spot for country music which gave her an opportunity to expose herself in the country’s music industry. She has performed with top stars that include the sensational Bholoja. 

Her association with Bholoja gave her a chance to perform alongside some of the top international stars. She also recorded house music with DJ DD Cool and her own music.

She has hosted a number of local shows which include the biggest Miss Deaf Swaziland finals 2011/12, Miss Swaziland, Miss Teen Swaziland, Tihlabani Awards, Karaoke Nights, etc.

Apart from the arts, Siphesihle studied English Language and Literature at the University of Swaziland.

Nomzamo Dlamini

Mbabane, Swaziland (IFS) -- Nomzamo Dlamini, better known by her stage name ‘Zaza’, is a Swazi born singer who has been singing when she was six years old. 

When she was six years old, she realised she wanted to pursue music and acting as a career. Growing up in a family inspired by music and a deep church background really motivated her to become who she is today. 

Like many other famous and successful artists, she started singing in church. Singing was always her dream and passion. When she was 15 years old (2005), she recorded her first demo and it became a hit on Swazi radio and that kick-started her career. Her career as a musician picked up in 2011 when she was featured on SABC2’s Afro Café.

The young Nomzamo got invites to perform at events and weddings. At 21, her first album titled ‘Injabulo’ was released through South African recording label Universal Music. A music video followed featuring one of her songs ‘Lobola’ which was played across South African Music Media Platforms like SABC 1, Soweto TV and Channel O.

She has graced many African stages and theatres, sharing the stage with many well-known musicians and actors, such as Judith Sephuma, Mbongeni Ngema, Dj Cleo, the list are endless. She has performed at The Bushfire Festival, Simunye Fun Fair and Swaziland International Trade Fair. She also featured on SAMA Award winner DJ Sdunkero and DJ Steavie Boy’s albums.

In April 2014, she became an official member of South African leading mass choir Joyous Celebration. She became the second Swazi to become part of the choir following Avis Ndlovu who formed part of the choir’s recording of Joyous Celebration Chapter Six DVD.

That same year, she was part of the cast in one of the Ekasi Movies ‘Jackpot Mathambo’ where she played the Role of Lerato. She was also featured in ‘Isibaya’ smile sound track. Zaza is not only an artist, she is also an actress and has been featured in No: 43 Mbongeni Ngema’s Musical, where she took the lead role.

Noura Mint Seymali

Having begun her career at age 13 as a supporting vocalist with her legendary step-mother Dimi Mint Abba, Noura Mint Seymali was reared in a transitive culture where sounds from across the Sahara, the Magreb, and West Africa coalesce in the dynamic language of the Moorish griot.

Fueled by the exploratory sound of her husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly’s distortion-fueled psych guitar lines and a declarative rhythm section, Ousmane Touré (bass) and Matthew Tinari (drums), Noura Mint Seymali has already made a formidable debut on the international stage.

Performing at events like Festival-au-Desert (Mali), Hayy Festival (Egypt), and Festival Timitar (Morocco) and collaborating with artists like Tinariwen, Bassekou Kouyaté, and Baaba Maal, Noura Mint Seymali is steadily gaining wider recognition, determined to bring Mauritanian music to the world. Noura Mint Seymali's latest album - Tzenni - is available on Glitterbeat records.

Samba Touré

Get the album here: glitterbeat.com/glitterbeat_store/

When you meet Samba Touré in person, he comes off as a soft-spoken man, a man who easily charms you with his abundant smile and optimistic gait. But on his third album, Albala, which in the Songhai language means “danger” or “risk”, a weighted and at times defiant side of his personality emerges. To call Albala his darkest album is an understatement, but it is not a self-absorbed darkness. The cause of Touré’s worry is the crashing world around him, and more specifically the troubles echoing out from his beloved northern Mali homeland.

The last year has brought cataclysmic change and upheaval to northern Mali. The tragic details of this have been globally reported, so there is little point in sensationalizing them here. But the cumulative effect of these events on Samba’s music seems palpable. There is an added gravity to his voice and his words, an additional sting to his electric guitar; there are sharper edges and more complex undertones in his musical arrangements.

On “Fondora (Leave Our Road)” Samba sings with indignation:
I say, leave our road/ All killers leave our road/ Thieves leave our road
Looters, leave our road/ Rapists, leave our road/ Betrayers, leave our road

And on the haunting “Ago Djamba (Life Betrays Us)” Touré warns: We do not all have the same opportunities/ Here, nobody is born rich but we all have the same value/ Life betrays us.

As a band member, and valued collaborator of the late Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, Samba established a significant reputation, and through his first two solo albums Songhai Blues and Crocodile Blues (World Music Network) his confidence and musical prowess grew proportionately.

But Albala is a new flash point. There is more power, there is more grit, the mood is deeper, and aptly, given the album’s title, Touré takes more musical risks.

Recorded at Studio Mali in Bamako, in the autumn of 2012, Samba is joined by his regular band members Djimé Sissoko (n’goni ) and Madou Sanogo (congas, djembe) and guests such as the legendary, master of the soku (a one-stringed violin) Zoumana Tereta and the fast-rising Malian neo-traditional singer Aminata Wassidje Traore. Additionally, Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, Dirtmusic, Fatalists) contributes an array of subtle atmospherics on guitar and keyboards.

On the opening song, “Be Ki Don”,Samba sings: “Everybody welcomes Samba Touré.”
With an album as soulful and captivating as Albala, that might not be an over-statement.

Salif Keïta

Salif Keïta est un chanteur-compositeur-interprète du Mali (25 Août 1947). Il est unique non seulement en raison de sa «Voix d'or » mais aussi de son l'albinisme. Il est un descendant direct du fondateur de l'Empire du Mali, Sundiata Keïta Cet héritage royal signifie que sous le système de castes malien, il ne devait jamais devenir chanteur, car c’est exclusivement réservé à la caste des griots.

Salif Keïta est née dans le village de Djoliba. Il a été chassé par sa famille et a été exclu par la communauté en raison de son albinisme, signe de malchance dans la culture de Mandinka. Il a quitté Djoliba pour Bamako en 1967, où il rejoint le Super Rail Band de Bamako parrainé par le gouvernement.

En 1973, Keïta rejoint le groupe Les Ambassadeurs. Salif Keïta et Les Ambassadeurs fuient les troubles politiques au Mali au milieu des années 1970 pour Abidjan en Côte d'Ivoire et ont ensuite changé le nom du groupe en "Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux". Dans les années 1970 et en 1977 les Ambassadeurs Internationaux connaissent un succès international et Salif Keïta reçoit le prix de l'Ordre National de Guinée sous le patronage de Sékou Touré.

Salif Keïta déménage à Paris en 1984 pour sa carrière. Il est l'un des musiciens africains les plus respectés et les plus populaires. Il a sorti de nombreux albums solo, plus récemment La Différence (2009) et Talé (2012). Sa musique combine la musique traditionnelle d'Afrique de l'Ouest avec des influences européenne et américaine.

Les instruments de musique qui sont couramment présents dans les œuvres de Salif Keïta inclus les balafons, djembés, guitares, koras, orgues, saxophones et synthétiseurs. Salit Keïta a établi la Fondation Salif Keita, qui préconise l’égalité de traitement et l'intégration sociale des personnes atteintes d'albinisme.

Salif Keïta is a singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the "Golden Voice of Africa" but because he has albinism. He is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. This royal heritage meant that under the Malian caste system, he should never have become a singer, which was deemed to be a griot’s role.

Keita was born in the village of Djoliba. He was cast out by his family and ostracized by the community because of his albinism, a sign of bad luck in Mandinka culture. He left Djoliba for Bamako in 1967, where he joined the government-sponsored Super Rail Band de Bamako.

In 1973 Keita joined the group, Les Ambassadeurs. Keita and Les Ambassadeurs fled political unrest in Mali during the mid-1970s for Abidjan, Ivory Coast and subsequently changed the group's name to "Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux".

The reputation of Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux rose to the international level in the 1970s, and in 1977 Keita received a National Order award from the president of Guinea, Sékou Touré.

Keita moved to Paris in 1984 to reach a larger audience. Since then he has remained one of the most respected and popular of all African...

Bwazan

Bwazan (‘Bobo children’ in the Bobo and Bwa language), are a percussion and dance troupe founded in 2005 in Bamako, Mali (West Africa).

Bwazan are a family group of musicians; brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles born into the same family line of djelis (Griots) in the region of San, near Segou. From a very young age, the group were initiated into the study of instruments, songs, and rhythm scores in their pure tradition. Today, Bwazan revisit, through their own arrangements and instrumentation, the sound of their ancestors with the greatest respect, upholding their musical heritage by promoting and preserving the identity, spirituality and cultural richness of their Bo ethnicity.

Bwazan present songs, rhythms, and dances, which are accompanied by their traditional instruments, including the balafon (West African xylophone), the doun doun and djembe (hand drums), the yabara, and the barra (calabash drum), kamalan n’goni (stringed harp), and kora. Complex movements, precision, and harmony, combined with energetic dances, describe this group of talented, young artists. They are a real delight musically.

Bwazan take their audiences on a cultural journey, performing their uplifting music with great professionalism, soul, enthusiasm and joy. They promote a message of peace, humility, freedom, and courage. As ambassadors of their music and this message, Bwazan represent Mali.

Bassidi Koné

Bamako, Mali (IFS) -- Bassidi Koné is of Bobo origin, whose family originates in the region of San in Segou, Mali. Born into a djeli (Griot) family, Bassidi grew up beside his father’s favourite instrument, the balafon (a traditional, wooden xylophone). 

Instilled with the traditional, village songs and rhythms of his forefathers, Bassidi carried on screenshot284his family’s musical heritage, quick to show promising skill in both the balafon and the djembe (hand drum). 

During his early teenage years, Bassidi moved to Bamako, and it was here he met Koninba Bagayogo; a meeting that played a big role in determining his musical career as a percussionist. 

Playing alongside this master djembefola (djembe player) at various ceremonies, weddings, and christenings, the young Bassidi extended his knowledge and skill with clear resolve, distinguishing himself through his innovative solo lead playing and technical virtuosity.

In Bamako, Mali, Bassidi leads his multi-instrumental percussion and dance troupe, Bwazan (‘Bobo children’ in the Bobo and Bwa language).

They are a family group; brothers, sisters, cousins, and uncles from the same family line of griots. Bassidi formed Bwazan in 2005. They are ambassadors of their musical heritage and promote a message of peace, freedom, humility, and solidarity.

Bassidi tours internationally, beyond Africa, and collaborates with internationally diverse ensemble groups and musicians from varied musical backgrounds, delving into Afro-jazz, latin, reggae, classical and contemporary genres. 

His skillful artistry shows his ability to adapt these varied genres with his own while honoring the integrity of his own heritage.

Bassidi has been involved in a number of milestone performances in Australia, these include The Meander Project, a unique musical collaboration between Multicultural Arts Victoria and students from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), and Sankofa, a collaboration with Australia’s leading, and internationally recognised Afro-contemporary dance company, Asanti Dance Theatre.

In May 2014, Bassidi worked with Koné Express, a 9-piece Afro-Jazz ensemble. 

The Koné Express received a grant from Australia Council for an Australian national tour in April/May 2014. During this tour, they launched their debut album “Non-Stop”.