delmundo has departed

[bubudi]

on 30th december 2011 mamadou keita, known as 'delmundo', passed away. born in hamana, guinea, he began as a dancer, but then discovered his passion for making music and focused on drumming, also learning bolon, kamelengoni and bala. he learned the rhythms and dances of his region and was recruited by ballet djoliba national. delmundo toured with the ballet as a drummer, dancer, acrobat and instrumentalist. during his time in conakry with the ballet he furthered his learning with famoudou konate and koungbanan conde.

after serving his time with the national ballet, he joined arafan toure's band, africa soli and moved to the netherlands in 1992 with arafan, where he stayed for 12 years teaching djembe and dunun in the traditional style of hamana. he recorded a cd there with his group, africa sabou njouma, featuring traditional songs and rhythms from all over guinea. africa sabou njouma toured in the netherlands, germany, spain and france.

delmundo returned to guinea, where he continued to perform and teach until his very last days. may he rest in eternal peace.