Amadou & Mariam: “Welcome to Mali”

You’d be hard pressed to find a better fairy tale story in music than the one of African pop stars, Amadou & Mariam. Both were born in Mali, a French-speaking country in Western Africa, and both became blind early in life. They met in 1975 at Mali’s Bamako Institute for the Young Blind. They became close through their mutual love of music as they headed up the artistic programs at the school. They married in 1980 and officially became a musical group. In 1985, they toured outside of Mali for the first time and their popularity began to grow in Africa. In the mid-nineties, they began to perform in Europe and in the early 2000s their albums began to earn them fame and critical praise throughout Africa and Europe (gaining the attention of Blur/Gorillaz frontman, Damon Albarn, who produces a few tracks here). It is with Welcome to Mali (released in the fall of 2008 in Europe and Africa and the spring of 2009 in the US) that their music is earning attention throughout the rest of the world and the United States. And this record, which will carry their name to the rest of the world, is actually more amazing than their fascinating bio and certainly worthy of the accolades that it is receiving.

What makes Welcome to Mali so good is how Amadou & Mariam have blended African music with Western music to create something that is so fully formed, so stuffed with influences, and yet, so approachable. There are rhythms, grooves, and melodies that remind us of what little African music has found its way into the American music world via Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and world music stations on XM Radio. There are also moments of funk, pop, and rock which they have clearly picked up from American and European pop music. Amadou’s guitar playing is lively and funky as he combines African blues and pop conventions developing a truly unique  playing style that moves through a handful of genres without sounding too much any of them. He and Mariam sing solos, harmonize, and they play off one another in ways that are only possible for people who have shared the stage and their lives for years. As a result, it’s likely that they make a far more interesting duo than either of them would as a solo act.

Since most of the record is in French, there’s not much to say about the lyrics other than that they are delivered with soul and emotion. Though there are English phrases sprinkled throughout the record, only one song is completely in English, “I Follow You,” a love song in the vein of The Police’s “Every Breathe You Take,” only sweeter and better in every way, really. Yet, even without lyrics the listener understands what they’re singing about in these songs. They sing about Africa and celebrate their culture, they sing about marriage and the joys of love, they sing about music and its abilities to build, bridge, and unite. At at over an hour long, this sprawling record has plenty of space to celebrate these things and this party creates a feel-good vibe that doesn’t stop for the duration of the record.

Welcome to Mali proves that music is able to transcend language and cultural barriers and is one of the truly universal aspects of life. This album is going to end up being one of the stand out records of both 2008 and 2009 because it’s such a rare achievement. Its a record that celebrates African music and culture as much as it celebrates music, love, marriage, national pride, and life, making it supremely enjoyable not only for consumers of African or “world” music, but for all people. You won’t hear another record like this all year, and you may not find one that fills you with as much joy. It’s ironic that they would choose the title, “Welcome to Mali,” because this record is going to take their music as far from Mali as it has ever been–and that’s something else worth celebrating.

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Listen to songs from Welcome to Mali at Amadou and Mariam’s Myspace.

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Amadou & Mariam
Welcome to Mali
Because Music, 2008 (Europe)//Nonesuch, 2009 (US)
Rating: 4.5/5.0