Abdoulaye Samb, the Senegalese voice of Hackney

Abdoulaye Samb is a guitarist, singer and composer from Senegal. Now based in Hackney, he founded the band Minnjiaraby in 2001 (« the love of cultural mixing » in Wolof). Abdoulaye was first influenced by his brother who tought him how to play the drums. He decided to then build his own guitar with fishing rods and a petrol can while he was working as a building merchant in the village of Yene in Senegal.

Minnjiaraby is a love letter to the beauty of the rich Senegalese traditions and ethnies. His music is a blend of Mbalax (one of the most popular dance genres in Senegal), Senegalese Blues and Afro acoustic. It is heavilly inspired by the Fula and Mandinka cultures amongst many others, thanks to Abdulaye's travels, collaborations and researches in Africa and Europe.

Abdoulaye & Minnjiaraby has played in many festivals in France, Spain, Germany and the UK. They released their first album « Wouty » in 2013.