My name is Carles, artisan African kora maker, the magical West African Manding harp… I build them under the brand name KORA manding harps (KMH) and I am also musician under the artistic name Manding Celtic Strings (MCS Carles). 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 was born in 2004, and in 2007 I started building and playing it, as well as playing the Celtic harp. However, during my apprenticeship in 2016, I started facing physical problems playing professionally. Since then, I have been looking to recover, and I now play just for 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.