ABOUBAKAR TRAORÉ

& BALIMA

"The music, clearly rooted in West-African Griot tradition reaches high standards and the charismatic and energetic performance will inevitably lead people to the dancefloor and please even the most critical listeners among us."

- Qoute from LaBestia -

Aboubakar Traoré from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, is a prodigy of the Kamele n'Goni and an exceptional singer. He tells and renews the fabulous repertoire of the Mandingo Griots, denounces the daily difficulties of his people and pays tribute to the elders who have marked the history of his country and of Africa.

With its contemporary sounds, Aboubakar Traoré's music is resolutely oriented towards the future, without turning its back on the long tradition of Griots and West African songs. This music without borders reflects the climate of multiculturalism and crossbreeding in which our world is immersed.

Debut album "Tama Tama" was nomitad by Octaves de la Musique 2021 and the band was selected to showcase at Visa For Music (2023) in Morocco and Belgian Worldwide Music Night (2023) in Brussels.

Having gathered top class musicians such as Zonatan Dembélé (bass), former member of Rokia Traoré (Mali) , Désiré Somé (el. guitar), member of Bai Kamar Jr. 's band The Voodoo Sniffers and Foofango, Guillaume Codutti (percussion) and Geoffrey Desmet (balafon, djembe), both part of percussive big band Sysmo, Aboubakar Traoré today, aspires to be one of the leading world music musicians who fuse tradition with modern sounds. His strength lies in his self-taught, traditional, rich and varied background.

Aboubakar Traoré - Kamélé n'goni, lead vocal
Désiré Somé - Guitar, backing vocals
Guillaume Codutti - Percussion, backing vocals
Geoffrey Desmet - Balafon, djembe, backing vocals

Zonatan Dembélé - Bass, Guitar