Traditional drum and dance troupe formed in 1981 by master percussionist Yacouba Camara. Camara left Guinea in the '60s, traveling through West Africa and Europe and living in Paris and Holland. After making a name for himself, he returned to Guinea and recruited musicians and dancers for the ensemble that gradually became Fatala. Their instrumentation includes traditional drums, balafon, kora, and electric guitars, and they perform traditional material with no European influences, saying that Europeans try to copy African rhythms without keeping them African. Their debut album was a result of two gigs with Peter Gabriel, and they toured the U.S. in 1989. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide SOURCE: http://www.answers.com/topic/fatala This is a reissue of a 1988 Womad recording of this neo-traditional ensemble that included balafon but laid particular emphasis on percussion. The performance is admirable, the singing slightly under-recorded. A splendid plus is leader Yacouba Camara's harmonica. It's a rarely recorded instrument in African rural music, and Camara's playing makes that a major mystery. ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music, All Music Guide Credits: Fatala (Main Performer), David Bottrill (Engineer), Pete Williams (Photography), Yacouba Camara (Harmonica), Yacouba Camara (Arranger), Yacouba Camara (Conga), Yacouba Camara (Vocals), Yacouba Camara (Balafon), Yacouba Camara (Gongoma), Binnette Diallo (Vocals), Mabinty Sahko (Vocals), Amara Soumah (Doum-doum), Amara Soumah (Gongoma), Tagar (Percussion), Arafan Toure (Djembe), Francis Drake (Photography), Sy-Jenq Cheng (Art Direction), Sy-Jenq Cheng (Design), Malcolm Garrett (Art Direction), Malcolm Garrett (Design), Aly Camara (Djembe), Aly Camara (Bolon) SOURCE: http://www.answers.com/topic/gongoma-times Fatala was formed by Bruno Camara in 1981. Camara left Guinea in the early 1960s, and after extended travelling through Africa and Europe he ended up in France, where he started playing African percussion. After many years, he was finally able to establish his own group, Fatala, named after a Guinean river, which flows through Camara's town of birth, Rio Pomgo. Fatala is playing semi-traditional percussion based music and had the opportunity to record in the renowned Realworld studios. On this recording, the young singer Mabinty Sahko is featured with her sharp, expressive voice. Another singer of Fatala, not on this recording, Maciré Sylla has a solo career of her own and she already released two CDs. No information is available as to whether Fatala is still existing as a group. Formed: 1981 by Yacouba "Bruno" Camara Style: Mandingue Percussion Discography: Gongoma Times 1993 Real World RWMCD4 Previously released as: Fatala 1988 WOMAD WOMCD 011 SOURCE: http://www.geocities.com/fbessem/frames/art_fatala.html