Biography
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Born
14 February 1978 (age 46)
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Born In
Ziguinchor, Senegal
Seckou Keita (born 14 February 1978) is a Senegalese kora player and drummer. He is a charismatic live performer and one of the few champions of the less-known and rhythmically rocking kora repertoire from Casamance in southern Senegal. He was drummer in world music group Baka Beyond from 1998to 2000. In 2004, he formed the Seckou Keita Quartet and he recorded two albums as the duo Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita.
Keita launched his international career in 1996 under the guidance of his uncle Solo Cissokho with appearances at Norway's Forde Festival in a successful collaboration with Cuban, Indian and Scandinavian musicians. In the years that followed, Keita relocated to the United Kingdom, while touring regularly in Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Czech Republic as well as playing at such prestigious festivals as WOMAD and Glastonbury, both as a solo musician, and in collaboration with acclaimed figures like Indian violinist Dr. L. Subrimaniam.
He joined the popular world music group Baka Beyond as a drummer in 1998, contributing to their well-received East To West album, and in 2000 began to record his own solo debut Baiyo (retitled Mali for a later release through ARC Music), which encompassed his musical journey to that date, from Africa to Europe, via India.
In 2004, he formed the Seckou Keita Quartet.
Keita has found a wider audience through his collaborations with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. As Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, they have produced two albums together, Clychau Dibon in 2013 and Soar in 2018, and have toured widely.
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