Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Longing for the homeland
Life, John Clewley, Published on 04/01/2022
» Mali emerged on international stages in the mid-1980s with singers like Salif Keita and bands like Bamako's legendary Rail Band du Buffet Hotel de la Gare (which launched the careers of both Salif Keita and the late Mory Kante). These singers are from the central region, they perform music of the Mande people and have been joined by music from other regions, notably from the southern Wassoullou region (music from megastars like Oumou Sangare) and northern and eastern Mali, the latter of which was promoted by the late guitarist/singer Ali Farka Toure.
Return of Doumbia
Life, John Clewley, Published on 20/07/2021
» Over the past half-century, the land-locked West African nation Mali has produced some terrific singers and bands.
Eclectic music to soak in
Life, John Clewley, Published on 08/06/2021
» I once spent several weeks travelling around Southern Italy, camping in Puglia and Calabria.
Renewing Mali's musical traditions
Life, John Clewley, Published on 17/10/2017
» The landlocked West African country of Mali has produced some outstanding singers and musicians in the past 40 or 50 years. Think of Mali's most famous musician, Salif Keita, and great dance bands like the Super Rail Band, Zani Diabate and his Super Djata Band, the late Ali Farka Toure… and the list goes on.
A world-music classic returns
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/05/2016
» The Malian singer Oumou Sangare burst onto the West African music scene when she released her first album, Moussolou, on cassette in 1990. I was living in Tokyo at the time and African friends told me about a new singer rapidly rising to fame on the back of an album that had already sold a quarter of a million copies. A kind soul bought me the cassette from a trip to Mali so that I could review it for the Japanese newspaper I was writing for. I still have the original.
The Karnatik Story should be heard by all
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/09/2014
» I was recently in Bangalore in Southern India on a business trip. It was my first visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the city. It was, first of all, delightful to be in a big city which has lots of tree-lined boulevards and roads, although like Bangkok they always seem to be bumper to bumper with all kinds of vehicles. The food was terrific, the tea delicious and people everywhere were very friendly.
The sounds of Isan
Life, John Clewley, Published on 15/05/2012
» There are two broad fiddle traditions in northeastern music, one from molam, the music of ethnic Laotians and one from kantrum, the music of ethnic Khmers. The division is also neatly delineated geographically into molam in the upper and central parts of the Northeast and kantrum in the lower part, near the Cambodian border. As the late great kantrum singer Darkie noted in his anthem to northeastern music, Isan Samakhee (Northeast Unity): "Isan nua me molam, Isan tai me kantrum."