Not too long ago, a new video by Amadou & Mariam would have made a bigger splash. There’s no way denying their (?) questionable choice to get Bertrand Cantat on board for their latest record has somewhat tempered the global enthousiasm for their music. Which is regrettable — the end result is a fine record. […]
It’s windy in Bamako, says Martin Vogl, a journalist who’s been there for about three years now. Vogl and some of his peers are doing a great job in reporting what’s going on. But with all that wind blowing, and with things happening so fast, it’s helpful too to have shelter from the storm. A […]
Columbia history professor Gregory Mann writes the second of his of posts (here’s the first) on last week’s military coup in Mali for Africa is a Country:
That first line is one by Tunde Adebimpe (joined by fellow TV on the Radio musician Kyp Malone) from his collaboration with Amadou & Mariam on ‘Wily Kataso’. The second line is the title of Spoek Mathambo’s latest single (and music video):
I think it was 2005 when I first saw Amadou & Mariam play live. At the local summer festival in Brussels, the tent was pretty much empty when they walked on stage. An hour later, toward the end of their set, it was packed with people having to squeeze hard to find themselves a decent […]
