Madou began playing the kora at the age of three. When he was six years of age, he was playing his first show as the representative of the 71st era of korists in his family. He trained under his dad, Sidiki Diabaté, a man generally referred to as the “King of the Kora”. His elder brother, Toumani Diabaté is also a famous korist and Grammy Award Winner. Traditionally, the kora's part was that of a going with instrument to vocals for gatherings of vagrant artists. Madou catches that conventional sound and implants his own particular jazz sensibilities in his playing, directing the music of his ancestors of the Griot group — West Africa's historians and storytellers, his roots inserted in each harmony. He has performed on stages over the globe and worked together with artists like Damon Albarn, Vieux Farka Toure, Lakha Khan, Painted Caves and that is only the tip of the iceberg. His album 'Mali Latino' with Alex Wilson and Ahmed Fofana was a 2010 Top of the World Album in Songlines. In 2012, Amarrass Records released his performance kora collection 'Madou Sidiki Diabate - LIVE in India' to critical acclaim. He is currently working on two exciting transnational projects – Africa Express with Damon Albarn, Tony Allen and others, and the Lakha-Madou Project.