Alpha Yaya Diallo | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Guinea |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, balafon, djembe |
Years active | 1980s–present |
Labels | Jericho Beach |
Website |
alphayayadiallo |
Alpha Yaya Diallo is a Guinean-born Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter. [1] He incorporates Guinea's rich musical tradition into his original compositions. Diallo has won two Juno Awards, shared a third, and was nominated another three times. [2]
Diallo was born in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. [1] When he was young, he followed his father, a doctor who was in demand all around the country; this exposed him to a wide variety of cultural experiences, both from the different ethnic groups within Guinea itself and from neighbouring countries. [3]
When Guinea gained its independence from France in 1958, its Marxist first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, launched a cultural program aimed at the rediscovery and support of "Guinea's music, arts, dance and languages." [4] Diallo recalled that, "At the time every family had a member who was being trained in music." [5] He started playing percussion in school, but taught himself to play the guitar at an early age (either "probably six or seven" [5] or 12, [1] [3] according to his inconsistent recollections). At the University of Conakry, he became the bandleader of the Sons of Rais and toured extensively with them throughout West Africa. [1] After graduation, he performed with Love Systems, Kaloum Star and Sorsornet Rhythm. [1]
Diallo moved to Europe in the mid-1980s, where he worked particularly with the Fatala group, which played traditional Guinean music and was associated with Peter Gabriel's music label. [1] [3] After extensive touring, Diallo settled down in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1991. [1] [3] In 1993, he released his solo first album, Nene, which was nominated for a Juno Award, as was his 1996 album Futur. [2] He won his first Juno, for The Message in 1999 in the "Best World Music Album" category, a second in 2002 for The Journey and shared a third in 2004 for the African Guitar Summit compilation. [2] He released Djama in 2005. [6] He won the Best World Artist-Solo at the inaugural Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2006. [7] He plays with Ghanaian guitarist Pa Joe Diallo, Adam Solomo and Mighty Popo in African Guitar Summit. [3] [8] In addition to the guitar, he also plays the balafon and the djembe. [1] His backup band, since 1992, is called Baffing. [1]
He produced a film documentary entitled Best of Both Worlds, which was filmed in West Africa, Canada and France. [8]