Amadou & Mariam Issue #25

Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch)

By Katerina Herodotou
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 4:13pm

Thanks to political popstar Manu Chao, world music is back in with the cool kids. That's good news for Amadou & Mariam, the Malian duo who have been recording together since 1989. Now married with three children, the two lovebirds met at the Bamako Institute for the Young Blind and have been playing music together ever since. It makes perfect sense that Spanish-French sensation Chao, who has been incorporating Latin American flavors into his music since the early '90s would be intrigued by the music of Francophone Africa, whose '60s Cuban pop-influence remains obvious.

Amadou & Mariam have been enjoying a buzz behind recent reissues of their first cassette recordings, but this new collaboration with Chao, Dimanche a Bamako, glaringly bears Chao's fingerprints. Unfortunately, the distinct romantic softness of Amadou & Mariam's melodies, as heard in the opening track "M'bife," is often overshadowed with Chao's patent chaotic background sounds. "La Realite," stands out, with police sirens and crowd noises almost drowning out the originality of the duo's music. While his production is crisp, these are less Malian love songs and more Chao-cultivated radio hits. In fact, Chao's guest vocals manage to take away from the magic of the couple's harmonious explorations.

Yet, Amadou & Mariam find a way to shine through this static. Singing in Bambara and French, the listener feels that these two truly know each other, their voices blending into one with a sense of comfort and happiness. Several songs explore politics, but this isn't a Live 8-inspired record — as much as Chao would have liked it to be. It's a cute, soothing collection of summer evening songs, already popular enough in France, to have earned them the French equivalent of a Grammy.

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