Amadou & Mariam

Dimanche à Bamako

About this Album

“There are going to be many people who will find they have three copies of this album by the end of this year: one that they bought themselves, the other two given by people who’ll say ‘I heard this and thought this is the kind of thing you like.’ And there will be people who will themselves have bought three or four copies to give to friends, saying ‘I know you’ve sworn you’ll never like an album not in English, but this is the one to win you over’.” —Charlie Gillett, English broadcaster and critic

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia have been making music together since they first met and fell in love at the Institute for Young Blind People in Bamako, Mali’s capital, in the mid-1970s. They have been married and performing as a duo since 1980. While their music is based in a Malian-style blues, it has evolved to include a diversity of styles: French folk, Cuban son, reggae, and hip-hop, among others. Their success has recently grown beyond Mali’s borders to other African countries and Europe. In 2003, renowned musician Manu Chao invited Amadou & Mariam to record with him, and the result is Dimanche à Bamako (Sunday in Bamako). The album has been a major breakthrough for the duo, reaching the top of the French album chart, earning a Gold certification, and winning a Les Victoires de la Musique award, the French equivalent of a Grammy.

Manu Chao described his introduction to Amadou & Mariam in a Radio France Internationale interview: “I remember I was driving on the ring-road around Paris with the car radio on, and all of a sudden this song just burst out and grabbed my attention ... I rushed out and bought all their CDs … Every day I’d put their records on at home and when I started singing along, I’d add to them. All these ideas for melodies and backing vocals came into my head. It became a little game I played every day.”

He met the couple one day in a Paris studio “just to mess about and have a bit of fun,” and the three ended up recording for the next week, composing the basis for a new album that was later completed in Bamako. Amadou says the album is “based on a real principle of exchange,” a sentiment evidenced by the fact that Manu Chao shares the writing credit for many of the album’s songs.

When Manu Chao first heard the duo radio in 2003, the couple already had been well-known in France for several years, having had a radio hit with “Ma chérie, mon amour,” the single from their 1998 album Sou Ni Tilé (Night and Day), their first for a European major label. That same year saw the release of Se Te Djon Ye, a compilation of the duo’s early recordings. With each new release—The Ni Mousso (Man and Woman) in 1999, Wati in 2002—the duo has earned increasing international acclaim.