28 October 2011
I first saw the young Malian singer Fatoumata
Diawara providing backing vocals for the legendary Oumou Sangaré at the 2009 WOMAD
Festival (reviewed here in July 2009). I saw her again at this year’s WOMAD
Festival where she appeared on the BBC Radio 3 Stage with her own band to
perform songs from her forthcoming debut album. That album, ‘Fatou’, was
released in September and I’ve been listening to it this week. Fatoumata
Diawara comes from Southern Mali and sings in the Wassalou style, familiar to me
from Oumou Sangaré (reviewed here in March 2009) and that other great
contemporary Malian singer Rokia Traoré (reviewed here in December 2008). Like Rokia
Traoré, Fatoumata Diawara now lives in France and her music shows some European
influences. Her voice is gentler than Oumou Sangaré and more laid-back than the
breathy intensity of Rokia Traoré. And the songs on ‘Fatou’ are lovely –
gentle, catchy, joyful, distinctively West African but easily accessible to
European ears. Perhaps not as musically ambitious as Rokia Traoré or quite so
concerned with political messages as Oumou Sangaré (though she does deal with
some important social issues) Fatoumata Diawara has created an album which is
sophisticated easy-listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment