{"id":58529,"date":"2020-09-04T15:04:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T13:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/oumou-sangare-moussolou\/"},"modified":"2020-09-04T15:39:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T13:39:44","slug":"oumou-sangare-moussolou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/oumou-sangare-moussolou\/","title":{"rendered":"Moussolou, the album that unearthed the Malian diva Oumou Sangar\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>When it comes to African classics, Oumou Sangar\u00e9\u2019s debut album <em>Moussolou<\/em>, stands far out from the rest. She presents herself on the album as the same rebellious and troublemaking diva we know today, singing about the plight of women.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI didn&#8217;t even want to record an album at the time,\u201d<\/em> said Oumou Sangar\u00e9 about <em>Moussolou<\/em>, her debut studio she recorded in 1989. Yet, thirty years and ten albums later, the singer shines on as a crucial voice for Mali, both as an African icon and an international star, as well as an accomplished businesswoman \u2013&nbsp;she owns a hotel, a pioneering farm, a car company and a taxi company&nbsp;\u2013 and a freedom fighter, whose integrity, perseverance and outspokenness remains highly respected. A woman standing tall and a pivotal artist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;The first time I heard Oumou, it was on a cassette tape version of <\/em>Moussolou<em> that Ali Farka Tour\u00e9 gave me,&#8221;<\/em> recalls Nick Gold, head of the World Circuit label, in an interview he gave to the French newspaper <em>Le Monde<\/em>. <em>&#8220;For months I have listened to it on loop. When I traveled through Mali, I would hear it everywhere. There was no way I could have escaped this music!&#8221;<\/em> The truth is, Sangar\u00e9&#8217;s sounds caused a sensation and the cassette, initially released in 1990 by Syllart Records, sold over 250,000 copies, an absolute record-breaker for the time. <em>&#8220;The day the album was released, people were lining up to buy it. And from there, it literally took off,\u201d<\/em> Oumou Sangar\u00e9 recounts in the booklet included in <em>Moussolou<\/em>&#8216;s 2016 reissue on World Circuit. But the secret behind its success however may be down to, of all things&#8230; a car!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Oumou Sangar\u00e9 - Ah Ndiya (Official Audio)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/11gCg1l1c8g?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p> When Oumou Sangar\u00e9 opened the doors to the fundamental JBZ studios in Abidjan to record the six tracks of <em>Moussolou<\/em>, the young woman was far from naive: at 21, she had already toured Europe with the Djoliba Percussions ensemble alongside Toumani Diabat\u00e9, and had already secured full financial autonomy, earning her living by singing at weddings and baptisms in Bamako. <em>&#8220;The producer Samassa had already invited me several times to record an album, but I always refused, because I thought if it didn&#8217;t work out I would feel ashamed. But he kept coming after me, and even ended up offering his own car to me as a gift and at that point I said to myself: &#8216;Oumou, you\u2019re riding a Yamaha motorcycle. Now look, a car is a much better option!&#8217; And I accepted the offer!\u201d<\/em> she explained. This anecdote may well make you smile, but it also reveals a strong personality trait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> In the studio, Oumou Sangar\u00e9 stood up to producers who criticized her music for being too traditional sounding, and stayed firmly reluctant in accepting the use of the drum machine which they tried to impose on her. It is primarily through the lyrics in her songs however that Oumou Sangar\u00e9 truly affirms her rebellious nature: challenging taboo&#8217;s against the weight of a conservative society, the singer stood by the side of African women (\u201cMoussolou\u201d), celebrated sensual loving (\u201cDiaraby Nene\u201d) as well as sincere loving (\u201cAh Ndiya\u201d), and did not hesitate to oppose forced and arranged marriages (\u201cDiya Gneba\u201d). Unambiguously titled and containing openly feminist lyrics, <em>Moussolou<\/em> (&#8220;women&#8221;) of course, caused a scandal upon its release. <em>\u201cIt really upset a lot of people, but I feel it was necessary,\u201d<\/em> reckons Sangar\u00e9. <em>\u201cIt was majorly criticized by the press. It was a complete disaster. It was a revolutionary moment and, strangely, I enjoyed it at the same time. It was so empowering! You couldn&#8217;t ignore it. It was just huge.&#8221;<\/em> It paved the way for a new generation of artists who dared to express themselves by following in her footsteps. Oumou Sangar\u00e9 then without realizing it, became celebrated as a feminist icon, responding to the concerns of thousands of women whose plight she has never let go of since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Oumou Sangar\u00e9 - Diya Gneba (Official Audio)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qoyFSXFUTgk?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p> An amazon of Africa, Oumou Sangar\u00e9 is also a true ambassador for the Wassoulou region, the lungs of southwestern Mali, whose economy she has supported by orchestrating in particular the ambitious FIWA, International Wassulu Festival, since 2017. The Wassoulou is also the region of her mother, <em>\u201ca fighter\u201d <\/em>to whom she paid homage to on <em>Moussolou<\/em> by choosing to sing in Wassoulou n&#8217;ke [the dialect of Wassoulou; author&#8217;s note] and by using the rhythms of the region, inherited, in part, by the hunters&#8217; ancestral rituals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-very-dark-gray-color\">In order to modernize the sounds of Wassoulou whilst respecting the traditions, Oumou Sangar\u00e9 called on Amadou Ba Guindo \u2013&nbsp;then a member of the prestigious Mali-based National Badema orchestra&nbsp;\u2013 whose minimalist arrangements undoubtedly contributed to the success of her first opus, a timeless masterpiece, revealing from early on, the huge hit-making potential the singer had. Bass and guitar unify the virtuously played<em> kamal\u00e9 ngoni<\/em> (harp-lute) and <em>karignan<\/em> (a scrape-styled percussion instrument) whilst an unexpected violin adds unique nuances to the fold. Flexible, powerful and untamable, Oumou Sangar\u00e9&#8217;s voice eventually transcends this landmark record in her discography \u2013&nbsp;the starting point of a majestic career. This was made evident on <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/efQiWlVIcDY\">her recent afro-house collaboration with the duo Synapson<\/a>, and on her latest album, <em>Mogoya<\/em> (2017, No Format), whose music is enriched by synth-leads and psychedelic guitars that share the beat with rhythms performed by the late Tony Allen. Oumou Sangar\u00e9 is a woman of her time who has remained loyal to her roots \u2013&nbsp;to which she overtly pays homage to on <em>Acoustic<\/em>, an album recorded in two days without any of the usual accompanying safety nets, set to be released on June 19, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/45b9e0a3-oumou-sangar%C3%A9-cover-1010x1010.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49397\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to African classics, Oumou Sangar\u00e9\u2019s debut album Moussolou, stands far out from the rest. She presents herself on the album as the same rebellious and troublemaking diva we know today, singing about the plight of women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":49424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7834],"tags":[31],"location":[8132],"yst_prominent_words":[8514,8403,10752,21342,9174,8414,8618,8613,8402,8435,9455,9712,21347,21341,11845,8543,12172,21340,21339,8438],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58529"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=58529"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=58529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}