Welcome To The Ethnic Arts Network

Tasana Camara - also known as Lansana Camara - comes from a long line of griot Musicians from Guinea, West Africa who play traditional Mandinka music. His family also make all their instruments and organize musicians to play locally in the villages for family events and for concerts in the villages and Conakry, the urban seaport of Guinea.

BIOGRAPHY: As a young boy, Tasana first began playing Guinea folkloric music with his father and brother. He started playing the balaphon first, then mastered the Kora when he became a young man. In 1982, he founded Group Yeleba in Conakry. He performed with Ballet Senegal and Ballet la Maise in Dakar from 1985 to 1987, then joined the Ballet Djouliba - traveling all over the world with the National Ballet of Guinea - until 1990 when he became an Artist-in Residence in Holland for 15 years. There he worked with FATALA , Sundiata Kieta, and EVON BONDE.

In 2005, Tasana came to America to perform in the African Dance and Music production AGEBIDIDI with Abou Sylla and Mohamed DaCosta at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Tasana found the people and climate so wonderful in Florida that he decided to establish a residence there. On Valentine's Day in February 2006, he married an American woman he says he "fell in love with at first sight" - Melody Record - who is also a performer, dancer, musician, promoter and visual artist.
Tasana's many loyal friends in Holland and his wife Melody provided funding to build a large house in Mambiya, a village many miles north of the seaport of Conakry, in hopes of it being used as an international cultural center to study dance and music. Additional funding is needed to support this "center", especially in the rainy season when Tasana's griot family are rarely able to play music to make money due to the constant, often torrential rains. Tasana's large family lives in Conakry,Guinea where his children and 30+ relatives are all living in precarious poverty conditions. His 2 children living in Holland are being supported by their 2 different mothers. This is the typical situation for many African musicians.

CULTURE: For Africans living in the Western world, supporting needy family members is a life-long responsibility...a Blessing and a Curse! For example, there are regular cultural holidays in Guinea that traditionally require the purchase of special food for the families, such as Ramadan. There are few social services in Guinea, so if someone gets sick, or needs to go to the hospital they must get help as a fee must be paid in order to get even minimal medical care. The children cannot attend school unless the family pays the attendance fee and provides a uniform and books as well. When a person passes away, the family collects money from relatives and friends everywhere to hold a "Sacrifice", which is a big, ceremonial party where the very best food - such as mutton and goat - is served in honor of the one who died. Money is also needed for the community celebration of the birth of new babies - everybody in the neighborhood is invited and food and music is provided for all by the family. That happens often in Tasana's family as the men have many wives and the wives are encouraged to have many babies. Tasana's older brother has 13 children so far! African family members are typically very close, and even intimate relations with cousins are not discouraged. Yet, in spite of this family closeness, divorces are common and there it is the men decide who the children will live with. Sadly, Guinea is a country where the girl children are still subjected to the terrible ordeal of female circumcision, causing genital mutilation.

ORDER PROFESSIONAL QUALITY INSTRUMENTS FROM AFRICA !

Balafons and drums handcrafted by Tasana's famous family of master craftsmen
can be ordered and shipped directly from Guinea.

Koras can be ordered here, made by Tasana, with either natural tuning or keys.

STUDY AFRICAN MUSIC !

Tasana teaches classes in Balafon, Kora and West African drumming and percussion. There are regular ongoing classes in Gainesville, Florida and he is available for workshops out-of-town by request.