Your Guide to African Percussion at Sun-Sounds

Sun-Sounds is the only stockist in Malta for Afroton, a line of handmade African and world percussion — and over the past few months we've rebuilt that whole corner of the shop from the ground up. This page is the map: what African percussion actually is, what we carry, and which instrument makes sense depending on what you're after.

What counts as African percussion

It's a broad family rather than one instrument: hand drums like the djembe, tuned instruments like the kalimba (also called a thumb piano or mbira), steel tongue drums (a more recent, meditative cousin), and texture instruments like güiros and shakers that carry the rhythm without carrying the melody. Most are handmade in Africa or by African-tradition makers elsewhere, which is exactly what the Afroton name refers to.

Djembes — the centrepiece

A goblet-shaped hand drum played bare-handed, capable of a surprising tonal range from a deep bass to a sharp slap. It's usually the first African drum people ask for by name, and it's where most of our Afroton customers start. We carry a range of sizes — see our full djembe writeup for the current lineup and prices.

Kalimbas and steel tongue drums — the melodic side

If you want something you can actually play a tune on with almost no learning curve, this is the pair to look at. Kalimbas run from a simple 10-key entry model to a 17-key professional with real range; steel tongue drums are pre-tuned to a scale, so anything you play on one comes out sounding intentional. Full breakdown of what's in stock and pricing is in our kalimbas and steel tongue drums post.

Güiros, shakers and hand percussion — the finishing pieces

These are what a percussion section sounds incomplete without: carved wooden güiros, metal shakers, bean shakers, talking shakers. Individually inexpensive, and genuinely useful even if you already own a djembe or kalimba — they're what turns solo playing into something closer to a full rhythm section.

Where to start, by what you actually want

• Want to play with a group or just hit something satisfying — start with a djembe.

• Want to play a tune within the hour, solo — start with a kalimba.

• Want something calming for a therapy room, studio or yoga space — start with a steel tongue drum.

• Already own one of the above and want to fill it out — a güiro or shaker is the natural next buy.

Everything on this page is in stock and playable in our Sliema shop — as Malta's only Afroton stockist, it's the one place on the island you can try the full range side by side before deciding.