Amadou & Mariam
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Amadou and Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Mali's capital Bamako 15 April 1958) and Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954). 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.
Style
The duo produces music that mixes traditional Mali sound with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Colombian trombones, 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 and in 1980 the couple got 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 and they embarked on a tour of Burkina Faso and 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 and started playing at festivals around the world.
In 2003 they were approached by world/Latin music star Manu Chao, who then produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako (Sunday in Bamako).
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.
Discography
- Se Te Djon Ye (1999-01-26)
- Sou Ni Tile (1999-06-15)
- Tjé Ni Mousso (2000-10-19)
- Wati (2003-04-01)
- Dimanche à Bamako (2005-08-02)
- Je pense à toi: Best of (2005-10-25)
External links
- [Official website] (in French)
- [Biography on Radio France International website]
- [Article about the pair] (in French)
- [the video: senegal fast food - by Enzo brandner]
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