Afro-indigenous music
The meeting between the mandinka culture of Senegal and the mi'gmaq culture.
Mi'gmafrica is the musical encounter between mandinka culture, with Sadio Sissokho, distinguished griot from Senegal, and mi'gmaq culture, with Valérie Ivy Hamelin, multidisciplinary artist from the Micmac Nation of Gespeg. The melodies, the songs, the tributes to the elders and the prayers combine gently and powerfully, to take you to the confines of the history of humanity. Two traditions, two continents, which draw their inspiration and strength from the same sources, the roots of the earth and Creation. Sadio shares, on the kora and by voice, the traditional mandinka songs received from his father and Valérie Ivy shares some traditional mi'gmaq songs, accompanied by her hand drum, her flute and her voice. Together, they present to us these revisited songs, as well as compositions, in which the mi'gmaq, mandinka, wolof and french languages intertwine with magic and beauty.
The show is available as a duo or trio, for an intimate and relaxed version, or as a quartet, accompanied by double bass / bass and drums, for a more festive and dancing version.
DISCOGRAPHY
LThe full album has been available online since February 17, 2023.
Distribution: Les Disques Passeport Inc.: https://passeport.ca/single/migmafrica
Record label: Nikamo Musik: https://www.nikamomusik.com/
To receive a physical album by mail, write to us at:
Listening links:
Dossier de presse
Technical specifications
Some festivals we played at:
Victoriaville Peace Festival (2018), Musi'monde Festival in Prévost (2019) Contes maltés Festival in Val-David (2019), Morin-Heights culture days (2019, favorite), La fiesta agricultural of Grenville-sur-la-rouge (2020), Festival Nuit d'Afrique (February 2021 and July 2021 at the Quartier des spectacles), Escapades musicales du Quartier 10x30 (2021), Chambly, 1st part by Dominique Fils-Aimé (2021 ), Gaspé End of the World Music Festival (2021), Halte Lacustre au Témiscouata (2021), Centenary of Val-David (2021), St-John's African Roots Festival of Newfoundland (2021), Biennial of Contemporary Indigenous Arts (2022), St-Hyppolite (2022), Centennial of Val-Morin (2022), Hawkesbury Multicultural Festival (2022), Nuit d'Afrique Festival (2022), Nature Music, Wendake (2022), Festival Alttérités (2022), Vaudreuil-Dorion (2022), Vision Diversité (2022).
2023: National Aboriginal Day / Vision Diversity. Arundel Canada Day. Pincourt Intercultural Festival. Africa Festival in Beauharnois. Entertainment district. Culture day at La Minerve. Browsburgh-Chattam Culture Day. Le Tremplin Festival in Lévis (September 2023). Showcase at Mundial Muntreal (November 2023)
Future : Showcase 5 to 7 – Rideau Event (February 2024) - Le Petit théâtre de Québec. Théâtre du Marais (May 2024)
Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith (June 2024)
Biography of the artists
Valérie Ivy Hamelin
Valérie Ivy Hamelin is a multidisciplinary artist who expresses herself with voice, transverse flute, hand drum, African percussion and gumboots. A member of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, she likes to celebrate, honor and participate in the revitalization of her culture and language through song, music, stories and the connection to the territory.
In 2009, she studied classical music at Collège Lionel-Groulx, with a specialization in transverse flute. At the end of her studies, she won a scholarship following a competition organized by SODET of Ste-Thérèse, which allowed her to start her event production company and artist agency, Les Productions Mosaïculture. Her journey as a dancer, chorister and musician in the world of world music has given her the opportunity to rub shoulders with countless artists from different ethnic communities, and to discover diverse and rich musical traditions. She has been part of several musical groups and dance troupes. She performed from 2008 to 2018 with the Mafrica formation, led by Sadio Sissokho, which was merged in 2019 to become Mi'gmafrica. She is part of the Artist at School program, in trio with Sadio Sissokho and Cheikh Anta Faye. She presents stories, traditional songs and Mi'gmaq culture in schools, libraries and festivals. It offers conferences and panels on culture mi'gmaq, indigenous history and in connection with its environmental activist actions (Mishtetuteiat, Amnesty International, Global Forum Against Extractivism, Mining Watch Canada in South Africa). Dedicated to water protection, she has sat on the board of Coalition Eau Secours since 2020 and was elected vice-president in December 2022. She is currently studying governance and indigenous intervention at UQAT.
Sadio Sissokho
Sadio Sissokho is a multidisciplinary artist from Dakar, Senegal, established in Quebec in 1998. He comes from a family of griots, learning the kora, a 21-stringed African harp, as well as percussion, from father to son for countless generations. Griots are the bearers of oral tradition and the guardians of history. He performed among others in Les Ballets Banaya, a Mandingo music and dance troupe, formed by his family. In 1998, he completed a bachelor's degree in percussion at the National Conservatory of Music and Percussion in Dakar, Senegal.
Upon his arrival in Quebec, he accompanied several artists on doundouns, kora, congas, sabar, tama, balafon, djembe and voice, including Taafé fanga, Kabakuwo, Annie Ébène, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Zal Seck, Wilfred Le Bouthiller, Lamine Touré, Mussa Dieng Kalla, Sylvain Cossette, Les Frères Diouf, and several others. Today he plays with The Cissokho brothers and with the Okavango ensemble in Toronto, with whom he performs regularly. He founded his group Mafrica in 2005, which merged in 2019 to become Mi'gmafrica. He has great talent as a teacher and teacher with a varied clientele, he teaches percussion in schools, CEGEPs and cultural centers. He offers cultural workshops with the Artist at School program, in trio with Cheikh Anta Faye and Valérie Hamelin. Sadio has a remarkable stage presence! He has great charisma and knows how to draw crowds into joy and dynamism.
Mathieu Royer
Born near Montmagny in the Chaudière Appalaches region, Mathieu made his first
concerts from the age of 12. He quickly became a lover of the stage and decided to do
music his profession. He completed a professional music and song technique at the CEGEP in Drummondville where he had the chance to study bass and double bass with Guy Boisvert. He then developed his passion for jazz and improvisation and his abilities as a multi-instrumentalist by learning, among other things, the basics of the guitar, piano and violin.
Over For years, he has shared the stage with several emerging artists and groups such as MAZ, Patanjali, Trio Laperche, Hugo St Cyr Jazz Sextet and Feel Burned. He also participated in the
production of several albums including Déboulez vers le ciel by Émile Gruff (2018), Dobrostan by Kutsi Merki (2018) and Adaptation of Feel Burned (2014).
He now continues his career as a freelancer and plays with groups of different musical styles: No Son Cuba nos, Émile Gruff, Félix Leroux, Kutsi Merki, Trad sur Mesure.
Thierry Arsenault
Thierry Arsenault is a very active musician on the Montreal scene. Above all, he has built a reputation as a versatile drummer and percussionist in world music circles. He is a specialist in the music of Eastern Europe, West Africa, Morocco and Ireland. As comfortable in front of 20 as in front of 20,000 people, he has played in around ten different countries.
He is one of the membersfounders of the internationally renowned klezmer group Shtreiml, with whom he frequently performs in the United States, Canada and Europe. Some of the renowned artists he has accompanied include: Béla Fleck, Harry Manx, Socalled, Joshua Nelson, Florence K., Frank London, Alicia Svigals and David Krakauer.
Over the years, Thierry has played in dozens of festivals including: Jewish Culture Festival (Krakovia, Poland), Klezmore Festival (Vienna, Austria), Ashkenaz (Toronto, ON), Winnipeg Folk Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, African Nights and Eurofolk (Zamość, Poland).
Since his association with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada in 2009, he has presented hundreds of concerts for children as well as led hundreds of percussion workshops. He is notably co-responsible for the creation of the UpTempo workshop in association with Ste-Justine Hospital.