The Appropriate Category for Amadou & Mariam’s Music is “Great”

by John Moses in Album Reviews, New Releases, Opinion Posts, bands to watch

I’ve been telling my friends about how much I like Amadou & Mariam’s music. Since they’re not well-known in the U.S. yet, the question that inevitably comes up is, “What sort of music is it? Who do they sound like?” After trying several weakly descriptive, “it’s-sort-of-like-this-and-sort-of-like-that” responses, I’ve settled on, “It’s just great, fun music. You should give it a listen.”

I discovered Amadou & Mariam last month, when I ran across their album, “Dimanche A Bamako,” on iTunes. I noticed that they had a new album scheduled for release very soon, so I picked up “Welcome to Mali” as soon as it came out. It was great too, and I was hooked. Both of these have been in heavy rotation on my car CD player and on my iPod for the past few weeks now.

For those of you who need a category, either so that you can find the CD at your favorite retailer, or because your mind just works that way, Amadou & Mariam are classified as “world” music. World music tends to be the catch-all for artists who are from the third world, or play music that is especially representative of a particular country or region. So, Amadou & Mariam fit part of that definition since they’re from Mali, which would be classified as third world. However, their music is such a fascinating blend of lots of musical styles, that it would be difficult to characterize which style stands out most, either overall, or from song to song. And, frankly, to spend much time trying to figure that out would be a pointy-headed waste of time. Just enjoy this music!

The most outstanding aspects of Amadou & Mariam’s music for me are the broad range of styles, instruments and rhythms. I liken it to the first time that I went to New Orleans and ate at a great cajun restaurant. The overall flavor was amazing, but there were nuances of many flavors, some familiar and some unknown, that made it a unique experience. So, what “flavors” of music will you get from Amadou & Mariam? You’ll hear some pop, some rock, some blues, some jazz, African rhythms, some dance club, some great guitar and tasty brass, lots of songs sung in French, the occasional phrase or two in English, and there might be a Malian native language in there sometimes too.  It’s hard to describe by its components, but very enjoyable taken as a whole.

Standout tracks for me on “Welcome to Mali” are: Sekebe, Compagnon De Lavie and Masiteladi. On “Dimanche A Bamako,” I’d suggest checking out “Coulibaly,” “La Realite” and “Senegal Fast Food.” 

You may even like this music more if you speak French, although not understanding the words hasn’t lessened my enjoyment. If anything, it adds that additional touch of je ne sais quoi.

I read that Amadou & Mariam will be opening a number of dates for Coldplay this summer on Coldplay’s U.S. Tour. Smart choice on Coldplay’s part for a great warm-up act, but I’m guessing that more than a few people will walk out after the show and say that their favorite part was Amadou & Mariam.