UNITED ONE. RECORDS ALPHA OULARE & SUGÉ

ALPHA OULARE & SUGÉ - Alakhawonmaly!!  - GTR 004-2 Alpha Oulare was born in Faranah from an original Mandingo family in Guinea Conakry and comes from the generation of the seventies. He started playing drum at the age of 5. He describes: "After I had left a cultural ocassion in the village where Ma Siré Camara was performing I saw the Djembé in a dream. I was only 10 years old at the time.I told him that I love his music,I was then invited to accompany him. I studied with him for 5 years and soon became a member of his ballet. Afterwards I joined the group Kounkouré Bamba. At first, I accompanied him when he appeared on stage and later became a solo Djembé player..." Berlin 2000 at the beginning of the new millenium Alpha Oulare had the idea to form the group SUGÉ, his idea was to form a group that could express the traditional music of Guinea, with songs from the mandingo and sousou traditions. Sugé is a tree which you can find all over Guinea. It is also known as the tree of life, It has a fruit which is popular in Guinea because it gives a lot of power. This is why Sugé represents the positive influence that comes out of nature. Sugé, is also the name of an old Guinean song expressing the necessity of protection against negative things that happen in life, like today in this century: racism, violence, war, illness...! Sugé, is the new generation of Guineans who express the tradional mandingo, sousou and Griot music mixed with their own new style. Intenet: www.gamton.de Review in Jazzdimensions