Mandeng Tilo is a band led by Maher Cissoko. Maher was brought up with the West African music tradition in Casamance in southern Senegal. He is from a famous Jali family and has been surrounded by music all of his life. He is the youngest son of the kora player Jali Kemo Cissoko. Hist mother Bintou Kont is a singer from Mali. All of his nine siblings works as tradition bearing musicians around the world.
Maher learnt the kora from his father, who learnt from his father and so on. He has embellsihed the tradition and developed his own style of kora playing and singing. He is a kora player in the third generation and longs to bring his knowledge to the public and to keep the rich traditions of his culture.
Besides playing the kora Maher has also learnt to play many different West African percussion intruments during his upbringing such as Djembe, Dounn-Dounn, Tama (Talking Drum) Kutiriba and Kutiringo-drum.
Maher has lived, taught and given concerts in Germany since 2001 and he has also toured Europe with different groups, often with his siblings. Among others are the bands Cissoko System with Solo Cissoko and Jalikunda Cissoko.
He has also performed and taught at:
Theatre Daniel Sorano, Dakar, Universitetet i Dakar, Savoyhaus, Berlin,
Mouson Turm, Frankfurt/M., Internationales Theater, Frankfurt/M.
Jazzkeller, Frankfurt/M.. Haus der Kulturen, Berlin, Open Air Kino
Silobad(Afrika-Festival), Frankfurt/M. (Hchst) , Womad festival, Great Britain and Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Sidney, Oslo, Gteborg and Lund
