Cyril Atef (Paris-France)

Cyril Atef is a drummer whom I really appreciate, both for his musical skills and for his personality.

Since the 90s he has played with Mathieu Chedid (M), Princess Erika, L'incroyable Jungle Beat, L'Orchestre National de Barbés, Cheb Mami, Aswad, Wankatao, Illouz Quintet, Garland Jeffrey, Julien Lourau, Yves Robert, Brigitte Fontaine, Alain Bashung, Nathalie Natiembé, Bernard Lavilliers, Gnawa Njoum Experience, Oshen etc ...

Yeah, that's right!

In 1999, he founded Bumcello with Vincent Ségal.

In 2003, I was lucky to play the first part of one of Bumcello's concerts at a festival in Nice, it was the first time I met Cyril.

15 years later he still remembered this concert and my band at the time (he even sang me a song that he liked, I was impressed!) and he invited me to his place in Paris.

So I went there with a tongue drum. After some discussions over a tea, he said to me: let’s go?

I barely had time to plug in my camera that he was already having fun with the Beat Root tongue drum I brought him!