My name is Carles, artisan maker of koras (KORA manding harps –KMH-) and musician (Manding Celtic Strings). Born in Barcelona city (Catalunya), I live in the province of Girona by the Mediterranean Sea where I built koras among seagulls and the smell of the sea since 2015.

My love for the kora born in 2004, and in 2007 I started building and playing it, and also playing the Celtic harp… but during my apprenticeship in 2016 I was diagnosed with focal dystonia and since then I am looking to rehabilitate myself.

My goal as a kora maker is to stay in the original essence. I seek the most sincere and humble sound possible, avoiding sophistication, always having as a reference the traditional koras that are my admiration (African soul-tech). I flee from superfluous finishes and designs as much as possible, and above all from designs that modify the physics involved in the original instrument. I avoid “luthier brand stylings” that unnecessarily modify the instrument and therefore the desired sound, or that complicate the natural feedback with the musician. And it is that my perspective as a constructor is always from the vision of the musician (the player).

I am fascinated that an African instrument “made of four reeds with a sore knife” has so much soul… and this vision is my Pole Star, as an artisan maker, musician, and person: The route back to the roots.