Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam
Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko
Background information
Origin	Bamako, Mali
Genres	Malian music, worldbeat
Years active	1974–present
Labels	Because Music, Nonesuch
Website	amadou-mariam.com
Members
Amadou Bagayoko Mariam Doumbia

Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Bamako 15 April 1958). The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music. Amadou lost his vision at the age of 16 while Mariam became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles.^[1]

Style

The duo's early recordings in the 1980s and 1990s feature sparse arrangements of guitar and voice. Since the late 1990s Amadou & Mariam produce music that mixes traditional Mali sound with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion. All these elements put together have been referred to as "Afro-blues".

Background

Between 1974 and 1980, Amadou played with Les Ambassadeurs du Hotel. In 1980 the couple married and began to play together as well as Amadou continuing with a successful solo career and running the blind institute's music programme.

By 1985 the couple had made a name for themselves playing Malian blues. They embarked on a tour of Burkina Faso. In 1986 the couple moved to the Côte d'Ivoire and recorded several cassette albums and eventually the album Sou Ni Tile in Paris, which became a hit in France. The duo started playing at festivals around the world.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 they were approached by World–Latin music star Manu Chao, who then produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"), which also features his distinctive vocals.

In 2006 they recorded, together with Herbert Grönemeyer, the official anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup "Celebrate The Day" (German: "Zeit, dass sich was dreht"). The song topped the German charts in June 2006.

In 2007 they supported Scissor Sisters at the MEN Arena on 30 July. In summer of 2008, they played the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Illinois and the Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk.

In 2008, their song "Sabali" placed 15 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Best Tracks of 2008.^[2]

Amadou & Mariam won the Best Group category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards (2009) - announced May 1, 2009 - the new 'world music' awards organised by the UK-based magazine, Songlines.

On May 26, 2009 they played a gig to support the homeless charity Crisis at the Union Chapel, in north London with David Gilmour playing second guitar supporting the whole 80 minute set and a 5-minute encore. On June 8, 2009 they performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

In 2009, they supported Blur during their two reunion gigs in Hyde Park and also supported UK based band Coldplay on their Viva la Vida Tour. They were chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England.

Also in the 2009, they became Zeitz Foundation Ambassadors for Culture (Art); they help raise awareness and shape activities in their respective dimension.

In 2010 their autobiography Away From the Light of Day was published in English by Route Publishing.^[3]

On June 11, 2010, Amadou & Mariam appeared on FIFA's Kick-Off Celebration for 2010's World Cup, hosted in South Africa.^[4]

In 2010, Amadou & Mariam contributed the song "Tambara" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo’s women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.

In February 2011, Amadou & Mariam performed as one of the support acts for U2 during the Johannesburg and Cape Town legs of their U2 360 Tour.

Discography

• Se Te Djon Ye (1999-01-26)
• Sou Ni Tile (1999-06-15)
• Tjé Ni Mousso (2000-10-19)
• Wati (album) (2003-04-01)
• Je pense à toi : The Best of Amadou et Mariam (2005-03-29)^[5]
• Dimanche à Bamako (2005-08-02)
• Zeit, Dass Sich Was Dreht (with Herbert Grönemeyer) (2006)
• Welcome to Mali (2008-11-17)
• The Magic Couple (2009-07-07)
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack (2009) – "All I Believe In"

References

1. ^ Teran, Andi. "Amadou & Mariam, Mali's Blind Polyphonous Polyglots | Blogs". Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/03/amadou-mariam-malis-blind-polyphonous-polyglots.html. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
2. ^ Pitchfork Media. "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008", Pitchfork Media, 2008-12-15. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
3. ^ "Away From the Light of Day". Route Online. http://www.route-online.com/all-books/away-from-the-light-of-day.html. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
4. ^ "Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali (2010 FIFA World Cup™ Kick-off Concert)". YouTube. 2010-06-11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16WHwEXGAUs&feature=channel. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
5. ^ MusicBrainz. "Release “Je pense à toi : The Best of Amadou et Mariam” by Amadou & Mariam", MusicBrainz, 2009-02-09. Retrieved on 2011-08-08.

External links

• Amadou and Miriam Biography and Discography on Soukous.com
• Official website
• Amadou & Mariam on Myspace
• Review of 'Masiteladi' on the Daily Music Guide
• Listen at Nonesuch
• Biography on Radio France International website
• Article about the pair (in French)
• Amadou and Mariam at NPR Music
• Amadou & Mariam: National Geographic World Music
• Songlines Music Awards 2009