Film & story
THE SELF — fifty films across five series, cut so the picture changes in the pause before each line and the words land on an image already up. Written, shot, scored and edited in-house. Producer credit on Moss Side Story.
The artist
Karim Mbaye
Born into the Senegalese griot tradition and playing since childhood — sabar, djembe, tama and calabash. Now Manchester-based, and one of the few players in the north of England who learned this music where it comes from rather than from a record. He has played in eight countries on four continents and on a Baaba Maál record at Abbey Road — the whole route is below.
Originator of Sabar Beat. He teaches it on a Friday night in Chorlton and plays it on a festival main stage, and it is recognisably the same thing in both rooms.
Represented by Leonida Gennaro Media
Booking, contracts and production handled by the agency. One conversation,
whichever of the five you are booking.
- Five ways to bookSession, club residency, festival, walkabout, workshops — one artist, five different rooms.
- Manchester basedNo travel cost inside the north west. Nationwide by arrangement.
- Teaches weeklyFriday drum class, St Margaret's Centre, Chorlton — the practice behind the performance.
THE ROUTE
Kaolack · Dakar · Australia · Lebanon · Spain ·
Denmark · America · Japan · Manchester
Where the beat came from
He did not arrive in Manchester. He got here.
Karim was born in Kaolack into a griot family — the oral historians of Senegal, whose story is written up in Patricia Tang’s Masters of the Sabar. His father Massaer Mbaye was a prominent drummer. His mother Agida Seck was a dancer, and the first woman to drum in public at the Iba Mar Diop stadium. He was playing for his own living at fifteen. Then he packed the drums and left.
Every stop below is his own account. Where he stated a sequence the line is solid. Where he only listed places — no dates, no order — the line is dashed, and it zigzags. That gap is real, and it is the next thing to close.
Toured and recorded with
- Baaba MaalPercussionist on Missing You (Mi Yeewnii)Senegal
- Salif KeitaToured withMali
- Ismaël LôToured withSenegal
- Alioune Mbaye NderToured withSenegal
- Ray CharlesPlayed alongsideParis
His published biography, carried word for word by African Activities in Liverpool and by Z-arts in Hulme. No source says which artist belongs to which country — so none is pinned to a leg on the map.
The bands
- RimbaxSenegalThe group he joined as a child prodigy, credited with revolutionising modern Senegalese music.
- RIMKALiverpoolThe band he leads — sabar with Afro-Jazz and mbalax, musicians from Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and Ghana. Opened Africa Oyé 2016 on the Sefton Park main stage.
- Karim BandManchesterOriginators of SABAR BEAT.
Solid — sequence stated
Dashed — named, not dated or ordered
Green — where he lives now
Red — a named credit: where, and with whom
Positions are true latitude and longitude.
Karim then decided to pack his drums and see the world.
- KLK14.15°N 16.08°W
KAOLACK Senegal
Born here into the Mbaye family — named in his published biography as the main griot sabar family in Senegal. A child prodigy, and part of Rimbax, the group credited with revolutionising modern Senegalese music. “For a griot, the drumming chooses you through birthright.”
- DKR14.72°N 17.47°W
DAKAR Senegal
Iba Mar Diop stadium — his mother Agida Seck was the first woman to drum in public there. His father Massaer Mbaye was a prominent drummer.
- AUS25.00°S 134.50°E
AUSTRALIA one year
“Karim then decided to pack his drums and see the world.” Lived here a year — the only leg the interview puts a length on.
- LBN33.85°N 35.86°E
LEBANON
Travelled and performed.
- ESP40.20°N 3.60°W
SPAIN
Travelled and performed.
- DNK56.10°N 9.80°E
DENMARK
Travelled and performed.
- USA39.50°N 98.35°W
AMERICA
Travelled and performed. Named only as “America” — no city given. These are the touring years; the artists he toured with are listed above, but no source says which country went with which act.
- JPN36.20°N 138.30°E
JAPAN
Travelled and performed.
- PAR48.86°N 2.35°E
PARIS
Played alongside Ray Charles. In his own words the Paris years were “my first real immersion in international performance culture — different stages, different audiences, different expectations.”
- MAN53.48°N 2.24°W
MANCHESTER
Settled in the north west, and described in his published biography as the UK’s leading sabar drum player from Senegal. Leads RIMKA, the Liverpool band fusing sabar with Afro-Jazz and mbalax — they opened Africa Oyé 2016 on the Sefton Park main stage, 12:30 Saturday 18 June. Z-arts, Hulme, July 2019. Band on the Wall. Teaches at the Pyramid Centre, Warrington, and every Friday at St Margaret’s Centre, Chorlton.
- LDN51.53°N 0.18°W
ABBEY ROAD
Percussionist on Baaba Maal’s Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) (2001, produced by John Leckie). ⚠️ His biography says recorded at Abbey Road; published album information says it was recorded in Senegal and at Real World, and mixed at Real World and Abbey Road. Worth settling before a booker checks it.
SESSION&SCREEN
live room or remote stems · sabar · djembe · tama · calabash
Session & Screen
Day rate, by negotiation
Studios · producers · screen composers · MediaCity
Played by someone who grew up inside the tradition, not someone who learned it from a sample pack. Come to the room, or take the stems.
4 videos · watch them on ArdoTV
Full Ensemble
Proof he plays WITH a band, not just solo.
1:25
8:45Craft & Instrument
Hands on the drum itself — reskinning, not just playing.
3:56
10:31TONIGHT
live percussion over your resident DJ
Live Drumming over a DJ
From £350 a night · residency · one-off nights from £550
Bars · restaurants · clubs — the repeat money
One percussionist over the resident DJ turns a good night into a room people talk about on Monday. Priced as a residency, not a one-off — four nights a month beats one wedding you have to win again.
Also available in this exact format: Krin — Senegalese Griot tradition meets cutting-edge hardware techno, a full band built for this pairing. Already proven live with a DJ at The Magic Garden and The Jam Jar (Krin + DJ Sacha Dieu · Krin & DJ Captain Flatcap · Klüb Blancmange w/ Boxxi, Faunatik + KB DJ's) — not a hypothetical fit, a format they already own.
3 videos · watch them on ArdoTV
The Set
Drums live, over the DJ — the actual product, on the night.
0:43
2:43The Room
The crowd and the lighting — the atmosphere a booker is buying.
0:36SABAR BEAT
full band · kora · drums · voice
Festival Stage
£1,500 – £3,000 · main stage
Festival programmers · outdoor arts · world music stages
A main-stage set built to move a field, not a room. Originators of Sabar Beat, with the band that made it.
Also on this stage: Krin — the same Griot-tradition-meets-rave sound, road-tested at Boomtown, Band on the Wall (supporting Tomasito García y Desensamblados) and Krin & Friends @ Supermassive, Manchester. Three continents' worth of musical heritage, based right here.
7 videos · watch them on ArdoTV
On Stage
Full band, main stage, lit and set — what a programmer is actually booking.
8:45
1:03
0:50
2:34
2:43The Crowd
Scale — what a field full of people actually looks like.
2:32
3:12Photos
The stage and the crowd, still — real shots from the sets.
NO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWERNO STAGE · NO SOUNDCHECK · NO POWER
the drum comes to the room
Roaming Percussion
£600 – £1,500 · walkabout, per set
Weddings · corporate · festivals · brand activations
The drum comes to the room and the room follows it. It works while people are still arriving — the exact moment a stage act cannot.
Footage coming soon
Walking the Room
Drum strapped on, moving through the space — the actual format.
Real footage of Karim roaming with the drum goes here after his next roaming booking.
The Setting
Where a roaming set actually happens — halls, marquees, festival ground.
Real footage of Karim roaming with the drum goes here after his next roaming booking.
EVERY FRIDAY · 6–8PM
St Margaret's Centre, Chorlton
Workshops & Teaching
£10 drop-in · £700 – £1,500 booked
Schools · councils · Black History Month programmers
A room of thirty children, a drum in front of every one of them, and nobody watching the clock. West African percussion lands as history, music and PSHE at once — and it is the rare workshop where the quiet child starts first.
15 videos · watch them on ArdoTV
Indoor Group Class
A room, a full circle of drums, everyone playing together.
0:59
20:16
1:591-on-1 Session
Private tuition — one student, his full attention.
1:45Outdoor Circle
The class in the open air.
5:14Karim's Moment
Him teaching, up close — the person, not just the class.
8:03Talks & The Pitch
The seated talk format, and the Friday class adverts.
1:03
0:11
0:11
0:18
0:33
0:17
0:13
0:13
0:18Music
Recorded work — press play
Programmers · bookers · anyone who wants to hear it before they book it
The sound before the room: traditional rhythms, Karim Culture's own tracks on SoundCloud, and the three Krin tracks from Kassa.
12 tracks
Traditional Rhythms
The traditional recordings that give ArdoTV its sound.
Mbaye (Traditional)Traditional · 2:53
Lembel (Traditional)Traditional · 4:12
Lembel pt 2Traditional · 1:46
Dagan SenegalTraditional · 2:40
Ndeye Gueye (Traditional)Traditional · 4:38
Karim TuneTraditional · 0:54
Karim Culture
Streaming from soundcloud.com/karim-culture.
Krin — Kassa
Karim's other act — Senegalese Griot tradition meets hardware techno. Released 2022.
Love Love Love (Kassa)Krin · 5:30
Ctrl-K (Kassa)Krin · 3:05
The Reason (Kassa)Krin · 6:35
THE SELF — fifty films, five series. Written, shot, scored and cut in this room. Every frame above is from the finished renders.
For artists
We are taking on a small number of artists.
Leonida Gennaro Media is a production company that manages the artists it believes in. Film, edit, sound, podcast, studio, brand, and the site it all lives on — made in one place, by the person who cuts it.
- 21years in post-production
- 9of them cutting for MEDIASET
- 50films in THE SELF
- 5series, each with its own score
- 10podcast episodes cut
Post-production
Twenty-one years in post, nine of them cutting for MEDIASET. Conform and grade in DaVinci Resolve — and you are handed the editable timeline, not just a flat export, so the work stays yours to change.
Podcast & audio
The Rhythm Transmission — ten episodes written, voiced and cut. NJOULI recorded multi-track, from tracking through to the mix.
Studio & broadcast
A working studio rig: Nikon body over HDMI into OBS, multi-camera, monitored audio — built for Ardoleon TV CULTURE. Sit down, talk, walk out with episodes.
Brand & image
Logo, two-sided business card, press kit, leaflet, print-ready artwork. The small things an artist is judged on before anyone has heard a note.
Web & platforms
Live sites, booking pages, a marketplace and a 360° gallery built in Three.js. Somewhere for the work to live that is not a social feed you do not own.
The film comes firstNobody books what they cannot see. We cut the reel
before we send a single email.
We find the buyerResearched, named, contactable. Not a mailing list
— the specific person who books your kind of work.
One page, five doorsEvery service gets its own section and its own
link, so each approach lands on the right thing.
Small on purposeA short roster gets the attention. We would rather do
this properly for a few than badly for many.
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