The older Touré brothers, with their group Touré Kunda are seen as grandfathers of African music, while following generations have formed the new group Touré Touré. On top of this, many of the brothers have had successful solo careers in their own right. A truly important musical lineage.

Back in the 1970s and 80s, this was so new and exciting, the group began to get noticed by both France’s music lovers and the industry

As young boys, Ousmane Touré (who released a new solo album Avenue du Monde in 2005) and his brothers were well-known locally as a singing and percussion group, playing music based on traditional Senegalese rhythms. During the 70s, Ousmane was training and playing more formally at the Dakar Conservatoire, performing at festivals and concerts in West Africa and then with the national orchestra of Mauritania. While he was learning his trade, the older brothers formed the group Touré Kunda in 1979. The name Touré Kunda, translated from Soninké, means the “elephant family” — the Senegalese version of the Jackson 5, just with a cooler name.

The big brothers made the decision to move to Paris to make a name for themselves as a group in Europe. They were one of the first African groups to do this and, by doing so, opened the way up for others who were to follow in their footsteps, and most importantly introducing European audiences to African music in its original form.

Touré Kunda, have always sung in Soninke, Wolof, Mandingue, Dioula and Portuguese Creole, and their music remained traditional, using African rhythms, focusing on vocals, and instruments such as the kora, balafon, and percussion. Back in the 1970s and 80s, this was so new and exciting, the group began to get noticed by both France’s music lovers and the industry.

But through being in Europe and collaborating with producers and musicians from France and elsewhere, the group members changed, as did their music. Rhythm and blues and reggae got a look in — the latter is what they seem to be most known for in Europe — as well as electric instruments and synthesizers. They released their debut album É’mma Africa in 1980, followed by Touré Kunda in 1981.

28-year-old Ousmane arrived in France and took over as the group’s front man following the tragic and sudden death of older brother Amadou on stage. They released Amadou Tilo in 1983 and 1984 saw the band tour in Japan — the first African band to tour there — and they then played at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Ousmane left Touré Kunda and moved to the States in 1990, while his brothers continued to release albums and garner acclaim. Touré Kunda are still going em, making guest appearances and performing, with more brothers, and others, coming and going. As recently as 2003, after over 20 years in the business, they appeared on a Drop the Debt compilation album.

Meanwhile in the 90s, State-side Ousmane was touring with Manu Dibango and making his own way. Carlos Santana released the hit album Supernatural in 1999 which featured the track ‘Africa Bamba’, a cover of Touré Kunda’s own ‘Guerrilla’. In 2000, Ousmane went home to Senegal and back to his roots to record Lolo in Dakar, an acoustic album which was released in West Africa and sold an impressive 80,000 copies. And in 2005, Avenue du Monde was released in Europe.

But the musical genes in this family are strong. Another brother, Hamidou, who left Touré Kunda at the same time as Ousmane has also had a successful solo career under the name Séta Touré, releasing his last album Douna in 2000. And Omar and Daby Touré, cousins from the next generation, have formed the group Touré Touré. Their debut album, Laddé (1999), found international success, and Daby released his own solo album Diam in 2004.

There have even been two books written about the family and their group.

Touré Kunda discography:
Les Fréres Griots, 1980 (Celluloid)
Paris Ziguinchor, 1984 (Celluloid)
Casamance au Clair de Lune, 1984 (Celluloid)
Best of Touré Kunda, 1987 (Melodie)
Mouslai,1996 (WEA)
Legende, 1999 (Sony)
Terra Saabi, 2000 (Edel)

Link: www.ousmanetoure.com