The Malian singer is back with Timbuktu, a new album with an international scope.
On April 29, world icon Oumou Sangaré will release the thirteenth album of her immense career: Timbuktu. Recorded between the United States, Mali and France, this album promises a fusion of Blues, Folk, Rock and traditional Malian music, with “Sarama” (charming in Malian) as the first single. This new project is set to be a return to the source of Massolou music after an exciting retro futurist detour with her last album, Mogoya released in 2017 on No Format!.
Carried by the charismatic and emotional voice of the diva, “Sarama” mixes kamele n’goni (typical Malian lute), djembe and blues guitar. On this pop-flavored fusion, Oumou Sangaré castigates jealousy. “Instead of being jealous of a person who is predestined, blessed and lucky. Make a friend out of him, that is better for you” (Oumou Sangaré – Sarama)
In the spring of 2020, after the fifth edition of the International Festival of Wassoulou (FIWA) that she created to promote her native region, Oumou Sangaré went to the United States. Forced to stay there with the Covid explosion and the implementation of a lockdown, she settled in Baltimore with her old friend and kamele n’goni player, Mamadou Sidibé. Between traditional Wassoulou rhythms and Western sounds, on Timbuktu, Oumou Sangaré delivers her thoughts on her country, the mysteries of existence, and the condition of African women with an introspective tone.
“Since 1990, I have never had the opportunity to cut myself off from the world and devote myself exclusively to music,” says Oumou Sangaré. “I think that this is felt in the music, but also in the lyrics, which are the fruit of all those moments when I could withdraw into myself and meditate. […] I put my life into this record – this life in which I knew hunger, the humiliation of poverty and fear, and from which I now draw glory.“
Timbuktu, out on April 29th, 2020 via World Circuit/BMG.
Listen to “Sarama” in our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
