The Malian twosome Amadou & Mariam are back with a new album, Folila. With its roots firmly planted in Mali, the collection takes added inspiration from some of the couple’s international alliances, and in particular Français Bertrand Cantat.
The singer from northern Mali, Khaira Arby, has a status on a level with Oumou Sangaré in her homeland. Despite a keen following in the United States, in France she remains largely unknown. Not for long though, since she is scheduled to perform at the Babel Med Festival in Marseille at the end of March.
More than twenty years after Mali’s artistic and cultural biennales hit the dust, we salute one of their most brilliant offspring: Super Biton de Ségou, decreed best band from 1970 to 1976. Still active, Super Biton continues to be the pride and joy of its hometown. RFI Musique met up with bandleader and eminent guitarist, Mama Cissoko.
Gathering 30,000 festival-goers over five days, the Festival sur le Niger, which has just run from 14 to 19 February, is a popular Malian event that places the town of Ségou on the country’s cultural map and puts the focus on local music.
As well as playing with an array of Mali’s contemporary music-makers, Makan Badjé Tounkara has carved out a space to share his own stories, which he narrates under his name in a second album, Sodjan. His academic yet modern playing of the ngoni, the string instrument played at the royal court for centuries, leads him irresistibly into the land of the blues.
After earning her stripes with the Super Rail Band in Bamako, in late 2009 Inna Modja released a first soul-focused album underlined by simple touches of folk, pop and funk. Her new compilation Love Revolution champions the art of loving yourself and others. The pop and soul are still just as present, but with an additional dancefloor dimension.
With an appetite for learning almost as big as her vibrant personality, the Malian Fatoumata Diawara has modestly slipped out of her actress persona to inhabit her new role as a singer. The simplicity of her first album Fatou translates her desire to stand forward unadorned.
Away from city studios and their numerous obligations, Tinariwen chose to return to the natural world that spawned its original repertoire to record their latest album, Tassili. RFI Musique interviewed Eyadou Ag Leche, bass player with the desert’s best-known band.
With her third solo album, Gagner l’argent français, Mamani Keita repeats her partnership with the multi-instrumentalist and arranger Nicolas Repac. A chance for the Malian singer to look back over the highs and lows of her career, and pinpoint what makes her feel proud.
There are times when you need a helping hand to reach a new milestone. To put together his fourth album, Nimissa, Guinean singer and musician Ba Cissoko was assisted by reputed producer Philippe Eidel, who has managed to draw out each song’s potential and assure some ship-shape production.
