Amadou & Mariam’s new album, tour, recalls their most famous concert

Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam will present their new album ‘Eclipse’ with a series of shows March 16-20 at SFJAZZ and Kuumbwa Jazz Center.

At its best, music can ease the barriers to empathic experience and infuse a room full of individuals with a shared consciousness.

For Mali’s superstar couple Amadou and Mariam, their enchanting, ever-grooving catalog of songs is enough fuel to turn nearly any gathering into a writhing celebration. But 10 years ago, they sought a different kind of interaction and started creating concert experiences that invite audiences into their world.

Guitarist/vocalist Amadou Bagayoko and vocalist Mariam Doumbia are back in the Bay Area to tour to mark the release of their new live album Eclipse. in the dark. They said that at least for the audience, blackouts would not be possible at his four night performances from March 16th to 19th at the SFJAZZ Center and at Kuumbwa Jazz’s Rio Theater show on March 20th. It does not reproduce the state of

Bagayoko lost his sight at the age of 16, and Doumbia went blind at the age of five due to untreated measles. The two first met at Mali’s School for the Young Blind in Bamako, where they performed in the school’s Eclipse Her Orchestra. They traced the concept of the Manchester Eclipse concert back to their days at the Institute that “the Eclipse Orchestra has both blind and blind people,” Bagayoko said in a recent phone call in French.

It took years to put the idea into action, but when they were finally able to perform in complete darkness, Bagayoko said they had a strangely “settled” experience. As the theater went completely dark, “people had to sit. There was less movement and it became calmer. But people could not concentrate on how the vibration of the music felt.” I made it.”

An interesting experiment, but it has not proven to be feasible to reproduce road conditions. “Things have changed,” he said. “There are many challenges and security and safety concerns in getting a proper tour with all the elements to ensure a dark room. It’s much easier.”

For Amadou and Mariam, regular concerts are a burning event. They are a long-running five-piece band featuring bassist Yao Dembele, keyboardist Charles Frédéric Avotto, and Egyptian-born drummer Ivo Abadi, co-founder of French global metal combo Ethnician. I am touring in Bagayoko’s style combines the stripped-down approach of his heroic guitar heroes like Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Touré with “various inspirations” such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lee He Hooker, and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. He said there is.

Amadou and Mariam are not only Mali’s musical ambassadors, but have been relied upon for some of their most high-profile assignments, including recording the official national anthem of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and performing at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Eager to soak up new sounds and influences, they recorded half of their 2012 album Forilla in New York City. There, he collaborated with rapper Theophilus London, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Antibalas’ Afrobeat He Horn, TV Show and more. wireless.

The couple’s landmark collaboration came about 20 years ago when multilingual Latin music star Manu Chao heard their music on a Parisian radio and approached them about working together. . He produced and sang on his 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako, which was nominated for a Grammy Award and won the BBC Award for Best His World Music His Album.

The project made them stars in Europe, but more importantly changed the way they thought about making and presenting music. They have collaborated with dozens of artists from Europe, Africa and North America, but “What’s so important about Manu Chao is that he changed the way we compose and perform,” says Bagayoko. said.