Afra Mussawisade (1973) is a multi-percussionist pur sang, he can make just about anything groove and sound great. Mussawisade was born in Teheran. He was first educated in Persian classical percussion by Arjang Kamkar and the Tonbak-Master Farhangfar. In 1983 he immigrated to Germany where he played piano and cello.



Later on he studied Latin American Percussion at the Rotterdam Conservatory for Music and Dance with Luis Conte, Martin Verdonk, Nickey Marrero, Glen Velez and Alex Acuna. After that he attended classes and Colleges of Percussion in Santiago de Cuba and Havana.



Since finishing his studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory, he has performed with numerous projects and artists including Zuco 103, Bayuba Cante, Oene van Geel, Scapino Ballet, Schäl Sick Brass Band, Don Abi, Marshall & Alexander, just to name a few.



In 2003 he studied South Indian percussion at the Karnataka College Of Percussion.



He translated his goal to incorporate different styles of percussion to his highly original setup. This combined with his fluent feel has made him a much asked for musician. Afra Mussawisade played with many international groups and toured in Europe, Canada, Cuba and Brazil.



Since 1997 Afra Mussawisade plays in Dutch percussion group Bayuba Cante, featuring Sjahin During. He also worked with Ted de Jong on German/Dutch artist Praful's album "One Day Deep", on which Mussawisade played conga, timbales, djembe and water drums.



After this release Praful formed a steady band and Mussawisade became his permanent percussionist.