She was born in Guinean the town of Gueckedouen near the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa. But she grew up in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Her harsh, violent relationship with her father makes up an important part of her identity and is discussed on the song “Toumah Toumah.” She moved in 1995 to escape the diamond mine warfare in Sierra Leone , and lived as a refugee for the next five years. After finally settling down in Conakry in 2000. Her new album, My Life, is an autobiographical music story of her past life which was about female suffering and resilience. At the end she has triumphed over war, abuse, exile, and migration

With a velvet and gravel voice reminiscent of the great Miriam Makeba. My Life was a collaborationn with French arranger and prog-rock legend François Bréant, who is known of his work with Salif Keita and Thione Seck. My Life blends Afropop, delicate moments of soul and rock, and traditional instruments to match Tolno’s earthy sophistication.

“In my songs, even when I’m talking about sadness, it’s not about despair or self-pity,” muses Tolno. “I want people to know that I went through all these things but still, I’m leaving the past to walk toward the things I love. I’m so happy for that. And the only way to share this happiness is to make others happy through my songs.”

About her songs

“Blamah Blamah” a rolling, upbeat tribute to remembered festivities of her childhood.

“Blama is the name of the town in Sierra Leone where we would all go for a festival at the end of every year,” Tolno explains, a town now dominated by ruins. “I wanted to tell people that in this town we had a very joyful festival, where we just sing and play all these traditional instruments. I wanted to open with my tradition, to show where I am from.”

Even when condemning the corruption and violence that dismays her, or pointing out the disrespect afforded to women of all stations around her, Tolno keeps a driving positivity whether she’s mounting a catchy Afrobeat-inflected call to respect African women on “Odju Watcha” or a searing indictment of careless politicians on “Polli Polli” and “Shame On U” or thankless lovers “Di Ya Leh.”

“Tonia” is a Congolese rumb, “Touma Touma” is a a desert blues-flavored anthem in which she’s whipping out gritty lines in Creole or English, or soaring through twining melodies in her native Kissi.