Amadou & Mariam

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“Since the very beginning, we have always wanted to mix our own music with great, talented musicians,” says Amadou Bagayoko. “We wanted to break barriers and open our ears to a new sound, to bring Malian music to a lot of people around the world in a form they would understand and enjoy.”

“We love what we do,” adds his wife of 37 years, Mariam Doumbia, “and we seek to make people happy with our music, help humanitarian causes and share positive messages about the good work being done by people in every corner of the world.”

With the release of ‘La Confusion’, their eighth international album, two of Africa’s most popular artists return to stake their claim to be the continent’s most successful musical ambassadors of the 21st century. “We’ve been away for a little while, but we are excited by our new songs,” explains Amadou. “We never stopped being Amadou & Mariam, but we were waiting for the best moment to come back with brand new music and plenty of energy for the live shows.”

‘La Confusion’ arrives at a difficult time for their homeland; just as their previous album ‘Folila’ was released, Mali was rocked by a series of calamities, including a coup, insurgencies and the takeover of a large part of the north by Islamists. “We recorded this album in France,” says Amadou, “but we were inspired to write the songs by the changes in Mali and around the world.”

If the mood of the title track is self-explanatory, the two singer-songwriters – Amadou and Mariam write all their songs separately (he finds it easier to work in the cool of the morning, she prefers the quiet of the night) – have penned their most topical material to date. ‘Femmes Du Monde’ argues for equality between the sexes in Mali; ‘C’est Chaud’ tells the stories of Africans forced to leave their homes and migrate, crossing the sea without knowing how life will be if they make it to Europe; ‘Fari Mandila’ criticises the feckless; ‘Ta Promesse’ censures those who give up easily and never fulfill their commitments and ‘Gnagamina’ talks about the turbulent times and terrors with which so many live today.