About

Feel the sound, feel my soul

I am Momi Maiga, a Senegalese musician, composer, and singer. I have dedicated my entire life to music and the kora, an instrument I deeply cherish since I was just six years old. I come from the respected Cissokho family of musicians, which connects me to the rich Mandé tradition that I admire and respect.

My music is a fusion of genres, an expression of my soul that blends with the roots of my cultural heritage. Every chord I play on the kora and every word I sing in my compositions carry the passion and love I have for music. My style is eclectic and personal, and my goal is to move the audience with my music, passion, and presence on stage.

Author, compositor, musician

Highlights Awards

These are some of my awards, the result of my passion for music. Thank you for being part of these successes.

30/09/23

Nio among the 100 best albums of 2023 by Transglobal Music

02/01/23

The third best album from Girona in 2022 – El Punt Avui

14/12/22

NIO in Top 50 World Album Chart

December 2022

Àlbum NIO at World Music Charts

My last videos

Listen my music

Nio

Album with 10 songs

Denano

Last single

Contact

Management – Núria Domènech
+34 695 53 90 12
info@momimaiga.com

Passionate Senegalese musician, composer, and singer

© 2023 Momi Maiga • All Rights Reserved

Bigoraphy

Momi Maiga stands out as a virtuoso on his instrument, the kora, as well as for his vocal fluidity and as a curious, self-taught composer with an amazing musical sensitivity. Momi was born in 1997 in Gambia, at four he went to live with her maternal family in Ziguinchor, the capital of Casamance, the southern region of Senegal. Immersed in a vast musical heritage, he grew up in the midst of the renowned Cissokho family, a family of Djelis. The Djelis of West Africa are dynasties of musicians, troubadours, mediators and transmitters of culture who have used music and songs to transmit history, values and messages of peace to society for centuries and up to the present day. Momi was educated among its rich musical traditions, learning the extensive repertoire of oral tradition, watching and listening. At the age of six he began to play the kora thanks to one of his uncles, Solo Cissokho (may he rest in peace), who had order to make a small kora when he saw little Momi’s interest in learning to play it. The kora is one of West Africa’s most revered instruments, and the Cissokho family have been the guardians of this 21 or 22 stringed African lute-harp for centuries. However, his journey as a musician began as a side musician at his uncles’ concerts and ceremonies as a percussionist. He only played the kora at home, in his room. All his uncles, grandparents and cousins play the kora, even a member of the family builds it. Many of them have an international professional career, as is the case of his uncles Solo Cissokho, Sadio Cissokho, Maher Cissokho and his cousins Seckou Keita, Amadou Susso, Suntu Susso, Ibou Cissokho among others. Thus, following the historical legacy of his family, his artistic heritage links him with a deep connection with the Mandinka traditions and their repertoires.

His journey as a kora player began in 2015, collaborating with the band of the renowned musician Ale Möller Band from Sweden. In 2016 he played a concert with the local Ziguinchor Hip Hop group Djali Kunda. In 2017 he traveled to France with the Dakar group Weuzz et le Samara. In 2018 he made his first stay in Barcelona, invited by the Barcelona Music Museum, and recorded the voice for the album Goor, by the pianist Adrià González. The same year he performed a concert at the Fuerteventura International Blues Festival, and a couple of concerts in Stockholm, Sweden.

A few months later, in mid-2019, Momi was once again invited to Spain through the Barcelona Museum of Ethnology and World Cultures. It is at this moment that he decides to settle in Catalonia in order to shape his projects and record his first album. Shortly after, meetings and live collaborations with musicians such as Seckou Keita, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Idan Raichel, Ferran Savall, Judit Neddermann, Erik Rydvall, Ignacio María Gómez, Aleix Tobias, among others, begin. Maiga quickly distinguishes himself as a daring composer and eager to merge with other musicians and musical genres. He sings mainly in Mandinka and Wolof, while reflecting on outstanding themes of our time and the importance of preserving the purest human values, such as solidarity, respect, love and dignity. In his first debut album entitled Nio, he presents a work in which he combines ethnic jazz, flamenco and the sounds of his Mandinka roots. He fuses the kora with classical instruments such as the violin and cello, and embarks on a journey that leads to the start of a promising musical career. With a spectacular premiere at the end of 2021 at the Fira Mediterrània in Manresa, Momi drew the attention of national and international promoters. He gets a premature sold out, and the standing audience clearly shows their enthusiastic admiration.

Resident in Spain for only four years, Momi Maiga is beginning to make a name for himself on the national music scene, and is taking part in the cultural and musical diversity of the territory.

With a total of 43 concerts performed in 2023 in theatres, auditoriums and festivals, Momi Maiga continues to present his debut album NIO (Microscopio label), released in October 2022.

He has 15 more concerts confirmed to take place this year 2023 between Spain, France, Belgium and Holland.

He is also committed for the premiere of his second album (October 2024) at the Aphónica Festival in Banyoles (pre-premiere concert), the Mediterranean Fair in Manresa (absolute premiere) and the Oslo World Festival in Norway.

Media such as RTVE, World Music Charts Europe, Transglobal Music Chart, All Ears Music Review, Rac1, Ràdio 3, Enderrock, among others, are echoing the progress of the young Senegalese artist, who at each performance leaves an emotional mark on the audience, journalists, promoters and programmers attending.