Concert
Amadou & Mariam
Guitar God and Griot Singer
They‘ve been hailed as a “dream couple“ in France and honored with the "Victoires de la Musique", the French equivalent of the Grammy. These two superstars met for the first time in 1977 at the blind people’s institute in Bamako.
In contrast, they began their musical careers as solo artists: Mariam started out as a singer at wedding parties – later, she was to introduce the songs of Mali’s Griots into the duo’s repertoire. Amadou, having started out as a percussionist, became a guitarist with "Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako" – West Africa’s legendary raw electric band, along with Salif Keïta. Together, they produced a series of song-and-guitar tapes themselves, followed by their first complex, orchestrated albums in France. Their global breakthrough came with "Dimanche à Bamako", produced by Manu Chao. "Welcome to Mali" points the way forward: funky computer beats, West African Mandinge melodies, Arabian Ney and Indoan Sarangis mixed up to a unique contemporary global pop music The gig is the closing highlight of WASSERMUSIK 2011.
