Sidiki Dembélé, Mariatou Dembélé and Modou Ndiaye together with Sinfonia Cymru

Ankaben – A Coming Together of Cultures

Ankaben means a coming together of cultures, music and people. That’s exactly what you will experience in Lleswyl 2025 – an incredible coming together of cultures involving Sidiki Dembélé, Mariatou Dembélé and Modou Ndiaye together with a 10 piece orchestra of Sinfonia Cymru.

This is an amazing and exceptional headline act for Lleswyl 2025, when we can showcase a coming together of cultures, music and people with artists of global reputation together with the professional musicians of Sinfonia Cymru.

Born in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Côte d’Ivoire, Sidiki is the second son of a Griot family whose parents, Yacouba and Aminata, moved from their native Mali in the sixties. The grandson of Siaka Dembélé, who was the leader of the Griot community in West Africa, and Agna Koné, his family has been a pillar of Griotism down the years.

From the age of fourteen Sidiki has played percussion instruments – and in particular the djembe drum of West Africa – professionally to herald and celebrate significant events in the life of his community in Abidjan.

Mariatou is a celebrated vocalist, who has been singing professionally since childhood, and who enjoys great acclaim in her home country, Côte d’Ivoire. Working closely with her brother, Sidiki, she is becoming well-known across the UK. Back home, she appears regularly on the television and is in great demand as a solo artist. Mariatou has recently been nominated for the Vocalist of the Year in the Mandeng Music Awards.

Mamadou Ndiaye Cissokho aka Modou Ndiaye is a member of the famous Cissokho family of Griot musicians and oral historians from the Cassamance region of Southern Senegal. Virtuoso kora player, singer-songwriter and percussionist with a superb repertoire of rhythms, Mamadou plays a variety of West African instruments, ranging from djembe, sabar, calabash and talking drum to his leading instrument – the 22 stringed kora (West African harp) fusing together an irresistible mix of both traditional and modern beats.

“I’m so excited about collaborating with Sinfonia Cymru. You’re about to experience fantastic energy and such a buzz. You don’t often experience such a diverse and powerful combination of music and culture in one evening. It’s going to be a blast!”

Sidiki Dembélé