Malian diva will release her new album the 19 May via parisian record label No Format.
After a break of eight years, Oumou Sangaré announced her come back with a new album, Mogoya (meaning ‘people today’). First single ‘Yere Faga’ was recorded with Tony Allen and had receive a breathtaking music video.
Oumou releases today ‘Kamelemba’, the album’ second single. Like the first one, we are immediatly struck by the minimalist bassline which serves as foundations for this progressive song. It also features Sangaré’s long-standing and trusted Kamel N’goni player, Benogo Diakité, alongside young Malian guitar player Guimba Kouyaté. The French production collective A.l.b.e.r.t. (who have also worked with Air, Beck and Franz Ferdinand) have added drum, bass and keyboards to give the track a new modernity and to emphasise the raw power of Oumou’s voice.
On the song, Oumou sings to women about the dangers of falling in love with sweet talkers and liars. Kamelemba is inspired by the track, Dugu Kamelemba, from her 1993 album ‘Ko Sira’, which was written when Oumou was just 24 years old. Talking about the song now, Oumou says, ‘it’s about men who show off, who bring women down, about women who fall badly in love. I wrote that song to give advice to our sisters to be careful, because there are loads of kamelemba out there’. Oumou also explains that the lyrics are meant with a good deal of humour, ‘we do a lot of teasing in African music. We tease each other, but it isn’t malicious. These are messages we need to get across, but they’re not really mean. I accuse men, but some say, ‘women are like that too!’’
Catch Oumou Sangaré in London the 17 May (Village Underground).
