Interview: Amadou & Mariam

At times, Amadou & Mariam seem a bit uncomfortable with questions about Mali. I suspect it is because they do not want to end up pidgeon-holed by an American audience used to associating African music with “world music,” a label that can scare potential listeners away from an act they fear they will never have the language or cultural background to enjoy. But Amadou & Mariam do make world music, and always have. From their early recordings that passed the sounds of traditional Malian music through a lens of Western jazz and blues, to their latest album, Welcome to Mali, which sounds profoundly influenced by decades of global touring, Amadou & Mariam’s world music sheds regional codes and dialects leaving pretty much pure pop in the most enjoyable (if Francophone) sense. We had the enviable opportunity to have a translator-assisted chat with the duo recently.

Musically, what was growing up in Mali like? What sort of music did you hear day-to-day and what influences do you think took root in your youth?
In Mali, they are very eclectic, and very different. They are very interested in all sorts of music. Jazz, blues, french music, was being played and it all takes root.
Yeah, Mali seems like a hotbed for African-Western musical crossovers. Ali Farka Tour√©, Salif Keita, and yourselves, have all made the leap to the rest of the world. Do you think there’s something unique about the place?

What’s so special is that the music is very diverse, but keeps its character. Ali Farka Tour√©, for example, is blues, but blues from Mali, which is something different, and it elevates you to an international stage.
Right now you’re getting ready for a summer tour of the US with Coldplay, so that’s going to be paying some huge American arenas. What’s your experience with bigger venues like?
Of course it’s going to be huge! We met Coldplay doing a TV show together, and decided to team up for a tour, but big venues are nothing new to us. We wrote the World Cup Anthem!
I know! Germany, 2006. But nobody starts out playing enormous arenas, how do you feel about them compared to the more intimate venues you played earlier in your career?
Well, when we play in a smaller venue we feel very close to the crowd. There is an intimacy with the audience, but in big stadiums, to have all the people watching and enjoying the music we feel even more motivation. We get excited, go crazy, because you want everyone else to do the same.
What was making the international leap like? Was there a culture shock upon going to The West
When we first started out, we moved to other African countries. We played C√¥te d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, around Africa, and all of these countries had different cultures and people, even though we are all African. But when we played Festival Trans Musicales de Rennes in Brittany, that was the big jump when we got a lot more exposure. The first time we played there we were very surprised with the audience’s reaction because we thought we were unknown, but they kept asking for encores, for more songs.
Do you have any thoughts about your music being consumed by a Western audience who may be only cursorily aware of the politics and culture that birthed the music?
For us, we feel it’s a great thing. In our songs we talk about our life experiences and what it is like to live in Mali, and we are always excited when people take interest in our home. When the music goes around the world it is Mali going over borders.
You two have stayed active and supportive with the school for the blind where you met. How has that place changed since you two burst out?
We do keep in touch and help the school. The good thing is that each year we have Le Paris Bamako, The Paris-Bamako concert, which is European and African artists raising money for the center. It all goes to buying school supplies, dorm supplies, new books and pens and everything for all the children. It is the first one in Mali, in the capital, and Mariam was one of the first students. When Amadou came to the center and he was a musician already the two of us began to raise awareness about the center and the blind by working together.
Of all the artists you’ve collaborated with do you have a favorite, or one that you find especially interesting in the studio?
It is difficult to say who we like best. Each one bring a different attitude to the room. Some we’ve known from long ago when we were younger, and some we have met more recently but it is about loving each other and music and bringing that love into the studio to make music.
Are there any acts from back home that you think deserve more international recognition?
We definitely think there are artists in Bamako who should be known at an international level, but we feel like the diplomats from Mali to the world and if we choose any particular musicians we might be excluding others and don’t want to leave anyone out.
Do you guys have any nursery song from childhood that you particularly like?
[Laughs]That’s a tricky one. [Long pause] There are so many to think about. I’m not really sure.
I sort of wanted to learn one.
Okay. [They confer. Amadou starts humming a song.] This one is Soundiata, it’s what parents teach children when they are very young. “Soundiata” was The Emperor of Mali and the song was dedicated to him. The national anthem of Mali uses the same melody, everyone in Mali will know it.

“Sabali”

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