From kabaré to club, a traditional ensemble in modern events
Traditionally the cabaret repertoire is performed acoustically. During the early years also Faso Kan mainly played without amplification. Through the years, the band started to act on bigger venues, and electric amplification was a must. That allowed more silent instruments like the calabash, ngoni, and kora, which became a significant part of the band’s sound. Like most musical traditions in West Africa, Faso Kan´s music is constantly evolving. Faso Kan aims to serve a global public, with the ultimate goal to bring people from different cultures together on the dance floor. Having that in mind, the drum kit, wind instruments, electric guitar, and bass were introduced to take a step closer to the European listeners. To match the tuning of these instruments the balafons have to be tuned with a tuner that's set for a 440hz system. The notes on the pentatonic scale are from lowest to highest: E, F#, A , B and D (listen to Sunguru, Sinata, Yeromou). Faso Kan also uses another pentatonic balafon and the balafon Mandingue, which is tuned in a heptatonic scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B (appears on tunes Faso Kan, Foliye and Toungaladen).