The story goes that their forefather came from Mali to Ziguinchor in the Casamance region of Senegal for its abundance of crocodiles. The shoemaker found all the raw materials necessary for his trade in the mangrove swamps and meandering waterways of the area, and stayed. Touré Kunda may have broken away from the traditional family trade when they turned to making music, but like their forefather, they found all the raw materials for their trade in Senegal: in its rich musical tradition. The animal which features in their story is the elephant they’ve adopted as their emblem (Touré Kunda translates literally from Soninke as elephant family). In the late 70s and early 80s, Touré Kunda, singing in Soninke, Wolof, Mandingue, Dioula and Portuguese Creole, helped spark off the world music phenomenon in France long before the term was coined. They prepared the way for many other successful African artists who were to follow, by proving to record labels that there was a viable market for African music.

The group was originally formed by brothers Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane, twins born, according to legend, 22 days apart in Ziguinchor in 1949. It was their elder brother Amadou, the first in the family line of shoemakers to become a musician, who started them out on their musical career.

Ismaïla was the first of the brothers to arrive in Paris in 1975, later followed by Amadou, Sixu and Ousmane, who had been living between Senegal and Mauritania. His experiences as an immigrant in Paris: odd jobs, hostels, cold and isolation, were themes which would recur later in the group’s music.

Back in Senegal, Ismaïla had grown up surrounded by the traditional rhythms of weddings and funerals and his mother had taught him how to make his own drums. The djambaadong, the dance of the leaves whose pulsating rhythms form part of the initiation ceremonies marking the passage into adulthood, had a profound influence on him and was to form the basis of Touré Kunda’s music.

Other musical influences when he was living in Africa were James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, and while he was studying English in Paris, he began listening to music as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Moustaki, Brassens and Creedence Clearwater. It was in 1976 that Ismaïla's musical career really began: he was composing advertising jingles for African shops in Paris, when he answered a small ad in the French daily Libération for a percussionist and joined the mythical cult afro-rock group West African Cosmos, where Wasis Diop also started out his career. His involvement in this transcultural experiment (the group’s album is practically impossible to find and particularly sought after by collectors) helped him to get the attention of record labels.

In 1977, Ismaïla’s desire to create his own group was strengthened by a successful concert he’d organised and he contacted Sixu begging him to come to Paris. Sixu was working at the time for an organisation who were training farmers in new agricultural methods, but he came to Paris and in 1979 the first Touré Kunda album "Frères Griots", also known as "Ismaïla Do Sixu", saw the light of day: it featured their signature hit, the timeless "E'mma".

The record hit a chord, released in the right place at the right time. In 1979, the African scene in Paris was trying to attract a French audience. The legendary producer Gilbert Castro, at the head of the Celluloïd label at the time, was hooked by tracks such as "On Verra ça", "Africa Lelly", "Samala" and looked after distributing the record. Touré Kunda’s reputation rapidly grew and their audience widened with the help of coverage from the new French press (Libération and Actuel), the support of promoter Mamadou Konte and his budding Africa Fête festival, and their regular performances around Paris in venues such as the Palais des Glaces, the Chapelle des Lombards, and the Dunois theatre where they had a memorable month-long residency.

After a particularly successful concert at the Hippodrome de Pantin, the duo became a trio when their big brother Amadou, who had started them off in music back in Senegal before he left for Mauritania, arrived in Paris to join them. The Frères Eléphants became the essential group for a new generation of music listeners eager to discover African music. In 1982, the release of the album "Turu" confirmed the "elephant family"'s rising popularity - they began to win over an ever growing audience.

But in 1983, disaster struck during their residency at the new Chapelle des Lombards, which had moved to rue de Lappe under the direction of Jean-Luc Fraisse: Amadou collapsed of a heart attack on stage and died. A memorial concert was organised by leading musicians on the African scene at the Casino de Paris and the group released a tribute album: "Amadou Tilo". The duo, affected by the tragic death of their brother were at a loss for a while before regathering their forces and recruiting another brother, Ousmane, who until then had been a P.E. teacher, as their lead vocalist. The new line-up of eleven musicians took to the stage again, starting off with a bout of energetic concerts at the Palais Des Glaces.

Interest was growing in this extended family which expanded to include other African and French Caribbean musicians, with occasional guest appearances by stars such as Manu Dibango. Their musical style was expanding too, covering everything from reggae to rhythm 'n blues. Greater radio and TV exposure followed the release of their live album Paris-Ziguinchor, which sold over 20,000 copies, and their video "Labrador", a track taken from the album "Casamance au Clair de Lune" (1984). In 1983 they were invited to play in Vittel at a summit for African heads of state, who didn’t hesitate to let their hair down during Touré Kunda’s performance. The French Caribbean adopted them as their own. Africa rediscovered them during their successful but exhausting and costly tour of their homeland which they spent the following four years paying-off. But it had been the brothers dream to tour West Africa.

Touré Kunda provided inspiration for other African stars such as Mory Kante and Youssou N’dour, leading the way and opening the doors of record labels which had previously been closed to African music. In 1985, 20,000 people gathered to hear the group play at the Espace Balard in the Parisian suburbs and their tour around France attracted over 200,000 spectators. In the same year Bill Laswell produced their album "Natalia" adding his own particular brand of technological spice to their music and a new dimension to world music.

In 1986, Touré Kunda, the first African group to have toured Japan, received their third gold disc for their album "Toubab Bi". That same year, while they were playing at Carnegie Hall in New York, they met Santana who was to draw inspiration from their track "Guerilla Africa" (1990) for his album "Supernatural" released in 2000. Hamidou and Ousmane were not mentioned in his credits though, both of whom were part of the Touré Kunda line-up at the time.

Admittedly Ismaïla and Sixu, the original duo in the line-up together for over 20 years now, are, essentially, Touré Kunda. The 20th anniversary of their career was celebrated in 1999 with the release of "Légende" and a series of compilations.

In April 2002, the group which has been exiled in France for the last 20 years decided to return to Casamance, the Southern region of Senegal where it came from. The Touré brothers wanted to bring a message of peace to this area, which since December 1982 has been prey to massive conflicts by armed Independence-seekers and where thousands have been wounded and hundreds killed. They also aim to set up an arts training centre in order to promote the region of Casamance.

The politically active duo took part in February 2003 in "Drop the debt", a compilation which brought together mainly French and African artists in a campaign to have the debts of developing countries canceled.

Touré Kunda were deeply affected by the sinking of the Joola ferry in September 2002, a tragedy in which over 1,800 people lost their lives. So, in October 2003, the brothers released a cassette album entitled "Un bateau pour la Casamance" (A boat for Casamance). The album was part of the brothers' fund-raising project to help victims' families and raise money to buy a new ferry to ply the sea route between Dakar and Ziguinchor. A number of other music stars including Thione Seck, Omar Pène, Baaba Maal, Didier Awadi and Ismaël Lô joined Touré Kunda in the making of this six-track album exclusively released in Senegal. In January 2005, the brothers released "Nité", a mini 8-track album including new versions of some songs that had appeared on "Terra Saabi." This new offering was also limited to release in Senegal.

Over the next two years, Touré Kunda devoted most of their time to touring, principally in France, before making a major comeback on the recording front with "Santhiaba" in May 2008. The album, named after the neighbourhood in Ziguinchor where the singers grew up, featured a number of songs which had been "tested" on the two previous cassette albums and then been specially re-recorded on this occasion. Touré Kunda hit the road again shortly after the album release, performing at Le Cabaret Sauvage, in Paris, at the beginning of June 2008. They went on to play a series of dates in Belgium and Spain.

July 2008