Kattam and His Tam Tams

Award-winning percussionist and storyteller Kattam Laraki-Côté invites you to discover Africa, the Middle East and India through rhythm, song and dance in Kattam and His Tam-Tams! From African rap and desert dance to Moroccan trance sufi rhythms and Bollywood dance, Kattam will be your guide as you discover the musical styles he perfected studying under masters from around the world. Set to the sound of the n’goni, balafon, djembe, naffar, darbouka and dhol, Kattam draws on his extensive experience with youth and family audiences to lead an incredible multicultural adventure.

Kattam’s passion and excitement for world music shines throughout his performance. Accompanied by his monkey, Kattam never fails to delight and involve his audience! No matter your age, he will get you moving to the beat of his drums and help you find a beat of your own.

Who Is Kattam?

Kattam – who is part Quebeçois and part Moroccan – first trained in classical music, studying piano, singing and percussion. His keen interest in world music and travel has served as the basis for manifold musical experiences abroad. He studied conga, timbales and drum in Havana in 2005, djembe and doum doum in Guinea in 2007 with such international masters as Mamady Keïta and Famoudou Konaté, and derbouka in Morroco with Mustapha Antari. He has also studied dhol through The Dhol Foundation since 2012, and Indian tabla with Hindole Majumdar since 2015. He was able to perfect his skills in pop percussions with Paul Picard, Céline Dion’s percussionist.

On the music scene, Kattam is currently part of Ayrad, winner of a Felix Award and several other distinctions. He has been an active member of several other bands, including Wesli Band and Bambara Trans, named Révélations Radio-Canada; La Mandragore, nominated at ADISQ and winner of an Opus Award; La Famille Zon; and the multi award-winning Niyaz. His experiences have included collaborations with such renowned artists as Marie-Mai, Lynda Thalie, Mes Aïeux, Mélissa Lavergne, Manu Militari, The Losts Fingers, Luc Boivin and the Belle et Bum team, Kissima Diabaté and Saïda Fikri. Kattam also earned his stripes as a teacher and team-building instructor.

Kattam’s artistic path has also been enriched by other experiences. In 2009, he joined Cirque du Soleil for a special event in Washington. In 2010, he performed at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, and in 2012, he was dancer among the cast that presented a Bollywood dance performance at the Gala des Jutras. In 2013 and 2015, he recorded the percussion under the direction of Martin Léon for the movies A Good Lie and Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre by Philippe Falardeau. He has also been featured in several television performances, including the Série Montréal Québec reality show, for which he created the opening dance-percussion choreography. He played also the lead role in the play Ali au pays d’Alice, presented at Place des Arts as part of the 2012 Festival du Monde arabe.