As a young boy Arafan Tourée made music with his friends on tin cans and wooden cases, in the streets of Conakry. His father however decided that he should be a car-mechanic. So, at the age of eighteen, he was repairing a car when a delegation from the Ministry of Culture came to summon him to ‘Les Ballets Africains’. His fame as Djembé soloist was already well-established from Conakry to Abidjan, and now he was to become the ‘musical motor’ of the Ballets. From 1959 to 1985 he was their main soloist, composer and musical arranger, as well as selector and trainer of new talent. Beside the Djembé Arafan played Doundounba, Krin, Kalebas and Siko. Because of his unending talent to create new melodies and compositions he became known as the ‘doctor of rhythm’. In 1986 he established himself in the Netherlands where he played with ‘Fatala’ (that played with Peter Gabriel) and ‘Africa Soli’.