The Gambia · Kora · Afro-Manding
Soul Nourishing Melodies with Afro Manding roots.
Led by Kora maestro Mafu Conteh; grandson of the legendary Alhaji Bai Konte. Mafu has become an expert at modifying tradition to increase the melodic potential as well as creating original masterpieces.
The band adds to Mafu’s beautiful melodies with the deep, rhythmic foundations of virtuoso bassist Alas Faal and the percussion, vocals and production of Greig Jahtoe.
Together, they transform the 150-year-old Jaliyaa lineage into modern soul-nourishing dialogue, capturing the magic with live studio recordings.
The new acoustic album from Kora Maestro Mafu Conteh and the premier bass player in the Gambia, Alas Faal.
This two-year effort features ten songs, reimagined traditional and original compositions chosen for their soul-healing, relaxing melodies.
Hakili Tenkung (Peace of Mind in Mandinka) is a deeply immersive acoustic recording produced by Greig Jahtoe and recorded live at Jahtoe Studios.
Download Fana Foloh from Amazon.com
Tribes Between Love Songs is a mythic West African music-story world set roughly 3,000 years ago.
It is built around the love between Jahtoe Conteh and Donne Donne Deyho, as their bond helps unite two fictional tribes through music, spirit, memory, and destiny.
The project blends romantic storytelling, ancestral atmosphere, griot wisdom, and visual mythology, with figures such as Tata Dindin, the baobab griot spirit, alongside Kankurang, Zangbeto, Ninki Nanka, and Zeetoe.
Its visual language is painterly, moonlit, spiritual, and grounded in ancient West African settings, with no modern technology.
Its musical identity connects to Mafu Conteh & The Kilee Boom Boom Band, Producer Kilee Boom Boom, Alas Faal, and Jahtoe Studios.
At its core, the project is about love as a force that crosses difference, carries memory, and turns song into a bridge between people, tribes, ancestors, and the future.
Mafu Conteh is considered as one of the finest kora players on earth by many griots. He is a current-day bearer of one of West Africa’s most prestigious musical legacies.
As the grandson of Alhaji Bai Konte, who first brought the Gambian kora to North America in the 1970s, Mafu’s playing is rooted in the Casamance style and the living tradition of jaliyaa.
Widely regarded as one of The Gambia’s premier bass players, Alas Faal provides deep soulful bass lines with just the right complexity.
His bass dances with the kora rather than merely accompanying it, forming a deep rhythmic dialogue that anchors the music without constraining it.
Providing vocals, rhythm, and production, Greig focuses on live-to-track recordings to capture the raw spiritual connection between performers.
He brings melodies to the band that arrive in early morning dreams, which Mafu and Alas transform into living compositions.
Given the name Jahtoe (“Lion” in Mandinka) by Gambian friends, then later Kilee Boom Boom; a name the band adopted as its own.
Contact: greig.jahtoe@gmail.com for band enquiries.
The following are a few songs recorded live in studio during jam sessions for the Tribes Between Love Songs project. The story behind the Tribes between love songs is Greig's creation with a long term goal of a musically themed movie supported by the Tribes Between Love Songs.