A Family Affair

Born in Ziguinchor in Southern Senegal, Vieux Cissokho's work carries the lineage of his kinsfolk, whose music and stories are passed through the generations from parent to child. Destined from a young age to play the kora, Vieux was raised in a family of kora players with the sounds, songs, and stories of his instrument. 

Vieux shared, “In my culture, musicians are messengers and healers. I use my music to bring people together. One day someone told me, ‘When you are performing, I couldn't stop looking at your smiling face.’ I said to him, ‘That is the happiness from my heart that I cannot stop smiling.’”