African Vibes: a few of my favourite African artists

On a hot (almost summer’s) day, this music fits oh so well. Thought I’d share a few of my favourite African musicians with you. They’re very different from the popular western music we’re used to (which quite frankly I get very bored of, same formulas used over and over).  

First up is Amadou and Mariam, then a band from the Saharan desert called Tinariwen (meaning ‘empty place’) and lastly Oliver N’Goma.

Amadou and Mariam make great music and are an established group on the world music scene. They are a married couple from Mali who met at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind (both are blind). Amadou and Mariam have been making lively, vibrant tunes since the 1980s. They mix a traditional Malian sound with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion, creating a sound referred to as ‘Afro-Blues’. Other artists which fit into this category are Idrissa Soumaoro, Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder. Here is the Damon Albarn produced Sabali (spotify) and  on youtube. Also well worth a listen is Je Pense A Toi on spotify and Youtube. Their 2008 album, Welcome to Mali, is excellent.

I saw Tinariwen on the Jools Holland show back in 2003 and was instantly drawn in; an intriguing sound and such a strange sight - tribesmen in full nomadic dress, playing electric guitars in a London TV studio. Tinariwen are ethnically Tuareg - a nomadic people populating the Saharan in North africa - and their music embodies the heat, dust and harsh life of the desert. Tinariwen founder Ibrahim Ag Alhabib said - “we write about the emptiness, the loneliness and solitude, the pain in the heart of missing your camp and your loved ones”. Here is Amassakoul N’Tenere on Spotfiy. See here for Youtube version.

I first heard this Oliver N’Goma song while walking through Kampala and was instantly hooked. It sounds a little like Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins. Such a great beat and melody. He’s not Ugandan but West African, hailing from Gabon. His breakthrough song was Bane in 1989, which made him famous across Africa. He was highly popular in Uganda which explains why I heard this song off the street. Sadly N’Goma died last year on the 7th June from renal failure. Nge on Youtube / Spotify.

If anyone’s got any of their own world music favourites, I’d love to hear them. Please share!