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Amadou & Mariam

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"Amadou Bagayoko" redirects here. For the Sierra Leonean footballer, see Amadou Bakayoko.

Amadou & Mariam
Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko in 2005
Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko in 2005
Background information
OriginBamako, Mali
Genres
Years active1974–2025
Labels
MembersAmadou Bagayoko
Mariam Doumbia
Websitewww.amadou-mariam.com

Amadou & Mariam were a musical duo from Mali, composed of the Bamako-born couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (24 October 1954 – 4 April 2025) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born 15 April 1958). Apart from being a musical duo, they were a married couple.[1]

Their album Welcome To Mali (2008) was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2010. They performed together until Bagayoko died in 2025.

Amadou lost his vision at the age of 15, while Mariam became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles[2]. Known as "the blind couple from Mali", they met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, where they both performed at the institute's Eclipse Orchestra, directed by Idrissa Soumaouro, and found they shared an interest in music[3].

Style

[edit]

The duo's early recordings in the 1980s and 1990s featured sparse arrangements of guitar and voice. Since the late 1990s Amadou & Mariam have produced music that mixes traditional Mali sound with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion. In combination these elements have been called "Afro-blues".

Career

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Having met in 1976 at the Bamako Institute for Young Blind People, where they played in the institute's Éclipse Orchestra, conducted by Idrissa Soumaoro, they soon became a couple on stage as well as in life, marrying in 1980 and beginning their musical career together at the same time[4].

In 1982, Amadou won the “Discoveries” competition organized by RFI. The duo formed a band called Mali's Blind Couple in the 1980s. By 1985 the couple had made a name for themselves playing Malian blues. They embarked on a tour of Burkina Faso for three-month[5]. In 1986 the couple moved to Côte d'Ivoire and recorded several cassette albums. During this time they met Stevie Wonder, and the duo started playing at festivals around the world[6].

In Abidjan, they met the Nigerien producer Maïkano and entered the studio in December 1988. The duo released two cassettes entitled "Volume 1" and "Volume 2", which were released in March 1989. In February 1990, Amadou and Mariam returned to the studio with producer Maïkano to record the tracks that appeared on the cassettes "Volume 3" and "Volume 4", released in 1991[7].

By 1996 the duo moved to Paris where they were signed to Polygram's Emarcy label. In 1998 they released their first album recorded outside of Africa, Sou Ni Tile. The track "Je pense à toi" was a hit on French radio and the album went on to sell 100,000 copies. In 2003 they were approached by World–Latin music star Manu Chao, who then produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"), which also features his distinctive vocals.

In 2005 The Côte d'Ivoire recordings were released for the first time on CD as a limited edition box set and "best of" collection, 1990–1995: Le Meilleur Des Années Maliennes. Amadou & Mariam won the French Victoire de la Musique prize for best World Music album of the year with Dimanche à Bamako. On 26 October (2005) after their show at the Olympia in Paris, they were awarded a platinum disc by the French Ministry of Culture for selling 300,000 units of Dimanche à Bamako. They also won two BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in the African and Best Album categories for Dimanche à Bamako. In 2006, they recorded, together with Herbert Grönemeyer, the official anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup "Celebrate the Day" (German: "Zeit, dass sich was dreht"). The song topped the German charts in June 2006. They went on to play major festivals in the US including Coachella and Lollapalooza. On 26 June 2007 they took part in Damon Albarn's "Africa Express" project at Glastonbury with a line-up including Rachid Taha, K'Naan, Tony Allen, Fat Boy Slim and Tinariwen. This was also their first encounter with Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. They then supported the Scissor Sisters on their UK tour, including three nights at London's O2 Arena . In summer of 2008, they played the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Illinois and the Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk.

In 2008 they released their 6th album Welcome To Mali with the participation of K'Naan, Keziah Jones, -M- and Damon Albarn. Their song "Sabali" was placed 15 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Best Tracks of 2008.[8] It also became the most-played French single worldwide of 2009.[9] In the same year they had played the main stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Amadou & Mariam won the Best Group category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards (2009) – announced 1 May 2009 – the new world music awards organised by the UK-based magazine, Songlines. On 26 May, they played a gig to support the homeless charity Crisis at the Union Chapel, in north London where they were joined on stage by their hero, Pink Floyd's guitarist, David Gilmour, who played second guitar supporting the whole 80-minute set and a 5-minute encore. On 8 June, they performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on US TV Channel NBC. That same year, they supported Blur during their two reunion gigs in Hyde Park and also supported UK based band Coldplay on their Viva la Vida Tour on 8 shows. They also performed their duo set L'Afrique C'est Chic at the Jazz Cafe in London where they were joined on-stage by special guests including Theophilus London, Beth Orton, Krystle Warren; and they performed a headline show at the Roundhouse, London as part of the iTunes Festival. Also in the 2009, they became Zeitz Foundation Ambassadors for Culture (Art); they help raise awareness and shape activities in their respective dimension. They performed live at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.[10]

In 2010, their joint autobiography Away From the Light of Day was published in the UK by Route Publishing.[11] On 11 June, Amadou & Mariam appeared on FIFA's Kick-Off Celebration for 2010's World Cup, hosted in South Africa, alongside Alicia Keys, John Legend, Tinariwen and Shakira in front of 80,000 people and hundreds of millions of TV viewers.[12] That same year, Amadou & Mariam contributed the song "Tambara" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo. Welcome To Mali was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. They were chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England.

The duo perform in the United States in 2024

In February 2011, Amadou & Mariam performed as one of the support acts for U2 during the Johannesburg and Cape Town legs of their U2 360 Tour. In July, they performed their first concerts in the dark, Eclipse, which were commissioned by the Manchester International Festival. They went on to stage these shows in London in November 2011, and in Paris in January 2012. In 2011, they also became ambassadors for the World Food Programme.[13] They travelled to Haïti and offered a new song "Labendela" (Children are the future) as an anthem. Their early biography Away From The Light of Day was published in the US.

Their eighth album Folila was released on 2 April 2012. Folila, which means "music" in Bambara, was recorded in Bamako and New York with special guests including Santigold, TV on the Radio, and Jake Shears. The first single of the album "Dougou Badia" was released on 20 January. The track featuring guest appearance of Santigold, was hailed by the NME as "a chuffing great masterstroke of genre-less genre mixing".[14] For the album "Folila", the idea was for the duo to release each album separately but, ultimately, the duo decided to combine the recordings, mixing different takes of the same song in a third studio in Paris[15]. In France, the track "Oh Amadou" which is a duet with Bertrand Cantat, was chosen as a single.

On 22 September 2017 they released their album La Confusion to mixed reviews.[10]

On 8 September 2024, they performed the Serge Gainsbourg song, Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais, at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[16]

Amadou Bagayoko died on 4 April 2025 at the age of 70, in Bamako, Mali.[17] On April 6, his funeral took place in Bamako, Mali.[18] Thousands of people gathered at Amadou Bagayogo's funeral[19].

Amadou and Mariam was scheduled to take place in summer 2025 in Vence in the Alpes-Maritimes, but following the death of Amadou Bagayoko, the event was cancelled.[20]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Album Peak positions
BEL
(Fl)
[21] 		BEL
(Wa)
[22] 		FRA
[23] 		NED
 NOR
[24] 		SWE
[25] 		SWI
[26]
1998 Se te djon ye  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
1999 Sou Ni Tilé  –  – 61  –  –  –  –
2000 Tje ni mousso  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
2002 Wati  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
2004 Dimanche à Bamako 70 14 2 93  – 28 16
2008 Welcome to Mali 83 73 33  –  –  – 82
2012 Folila 89 80 31  – 32  – 53
2017 La Confusion  – 100 173
[27] 		 –  –  –  –
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.

Compilations

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  • 2005: Je pense à toi: The Best of Amadou & Mariam
  • 2006: 1990–1995 Le Meilleur des Années Maliennes
  • 2007: Paris Bamako (DVD + CD 12 titres live)
  • 2009: The Magic Couple: The Best of Amadou & Mariam 1997–2002

Contributing artist

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Singles

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(Selective / charting)

Year Single Peak positions Album
BEL
(Fl)
[21] 		BEL
(Wa)
[22] 		FRA
[23] 		SWI
[26]
1998 "Je pense à toi"  –  – 43  –
2005 "Sénégal Fast Food"
(featuring Manu Chao) 		 – 30
(Ultratop) 		28  –
"Beaux dimanches"  –  – 48  –
2012 "Oh Amadou"
(featuring Bertrand Cantat) 		 – 46
(Ultratip) 		176  –
"Sabali" 40 20
(Ultratip) 		60  –
2017 "Bofou Safou"  –  – 134
[28] 		 –
2021 "Mon Cheri"[29]
(with Sofi Tukker) 		 –  –  –  –
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

References

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  1. ^ Presse, Agence-France (5 April 2025). "Amadou Bagayoko of music duo Amadou & Mariam dies aged 70". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Comment le dimanche est devenu le jour des seigneurs Amadou & Mariam". Le nouvelle obs. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  3. ^ "À Bamako, des milliards de personnes réunies pour les funéraires du chanteur Amadou Bagayoko". Le Figaro. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. ^ "À Bamako, des milliards de personnes réunies pour les funéraires du chanteur Amadou Bagayoko". Le Figaro. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Des milliers de personnes assistent aux funérailles d'Amadou Bagayoko au Mali". RFI. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Des milliers de personnes assistent aux funérailles d'Amadou Bagayoko au Mali". BBC. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Des milliers de personnes assistent aux funérailles d'Amadou Bagayoko au Mali". RFI. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  8. ^ Pitchfork Media. "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008", Pitchfork Media, 15 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  9. ^ "The Yearly Airplay Charts: 2009". Francophonie Diffusion. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Amadou & Mariam are as experimental—and as political—as ever". The Economist. 9 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Away From the Light of Day". Route Online. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Amadou & Mariam – Welcome To Mali (2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-off Concert)". 11 June 2010. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2011 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Amadou & Mariam. Global Ambassadors". wfp.org. 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Amadou & Mariam feat. Santigold & Nick Zinner – 'Dougou Badia'. Brilliant mash-up madness". NME. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  15. ^ "Des milliers de personnes assistent aux funérailles d'Amadou Bagayoko au Mali". BBC. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony: Full playlist". Olympics.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Amadou of Malian blind music duo dies aged 70". France 24. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Mali: plusieurs milliers de personnes rendent un dernier hommage à Amadou Bagayoko". rfi.fr (in French). 6 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Des milliers de personnes réunies à Bamako pour les funérailles du chanteur Amadou Bagayoko". francetvinfo.fr (in French). 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  20. ^ ""Tu joues encore à travers nous tous" : disparition d'Amadou Bagayoko du duo Amadou et Mariam : le festival des Nuits du Sud de Vence rend hommage". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr (in French). 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Amadou & Miriam discography". ultratop.be/nl/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  22. ^ a b "Amadou & Miriam discography". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  23. ^ a b "Amadou & Mariam discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Amadou & Miriam discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  25. ^ "Amadou & Miriam discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  26. ^ a b "Tal discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  27. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 39, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 16, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  29. ^ "Mon Cheri − Single by Sofi Tukker & Amadou & Mariam on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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