Artists
Oumou Sangaré
Oumou Sangaré is a Grammy-nominated Malian singer, songwriter, and social commentator known as the "Songbird of Wassoulou". Born in 1968, she combines traditional Malian Wassoulou rhythms with modern instrumentation, often featuring the kamalen'goni (harp). Sangaré is a champion for women's rights, incorporating themes of social criticism, fertility, and female empowerment into her music. Her notable albums include Moussolou (1989), Ko Sira (1993), and Worotan (1996), with Seya earning a Grammy.
Oumou Sangaré is considered an ambassador of Wassoulou; her music has been inspired by the music and traditional dances of the region. She writes and composes her songs, which often include social criticism, especially concerning women's low status in society.
Sekouba Bambino
Sekouba "Bambino" Diabate was born in a village 25 km from Siguri, he began singing with local bands in 1972 (he was given the nickname ‘Bambino’ because he was so young). He won the prize for best vocalist at Guinea’s National Arts and Culture Festival in 1979, as a result of which he was invited to become lead singer with the state-sponsored Orchestre Bembeya Jazz National . He stayed with the group until 1990, when he left to pursue a solo career. Soon afterwards, he released his debut cassette and Le Destin, a bestselling follow-up in 1992. Both releases featured Diabaté’s powerful and still youthful-sounding vocals, backed by a chorus of female singers and a band playing predominantly traditional West African instruments. Le Destin was released internationally on CD by the German Popular African Music label with two tracks from Diabaté’s debut African cassette. In 1996, by now a huge star among West Africans both at home and in Europe, Diabaté provided vocals for tracks on Africando’s Gumbo Salsa and in the following year released Kassa under the name Sékouba Bambino. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla, best known for his groundbreaking work on Salif Keita’s Soro, Kassa featured re-recordings of songs from his earlier African releases as well as new material.
Mamadou Sidibé
Mamadou Sidibe played a major role in transforming the popular Wassoulou music of Mali. He was one of the first to break with tradition by creating the now widely used eight-string kamale ngoni, a lute-harp-like instrument that exudes a deep, soulful sound.
Sidibe’s musical ambition came to fruition and he reshaped Malian music, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that he had the opportunity to record with Oumou Sangaré, his Bamako compatriot who brought the n’goni new international visibility. He’d accompanied her at the very start of her career, and they gained national attention together in the mid-‘80s with a series of appearances on Malian television. But he was back in the Wassoulou region when she made her first album in Bamako with renowned arranger and producer Amadou Ba Guindo, 1990’s Moussolou, a project that used a different n’goni player.
Sidibe went back to working with the great Coumba Sidibe and Sangaré went on to become an international force, recording a series of hit albums for World Circuit Records (released in the US by Nonesuch), while embracing her role as an entrepreneur, activist and advocate for women’s rights in Africa. Over the years she and Sibide stayed in close touch, and when she found herself in the U.S. in March 2020, she seized the opportunity to collaborate.