Ry Cooder has been nominated as Best Artist in the Songlines Music Awards 2012 for his latest album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down. Fatoumata Diawara has been nominated as Newcomer of the Year for her debut album, Fatou, released in the UK on World Circuit; her debut EP, Kanou, was released on World Circuit/Nonesuch Records. Among the nominees for Cross-Cultural Collaboration are Kronos Quartet (Uniko) and Chris Thile, for his work with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer on The Goat Rodeo Sessions.

Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut EP, Kanou, was released earlier this year, performed one of the songs on the EP, “Clandestin,” for the latest in the Guardian’s series “How I wrote …” Diawara discusses the various influences behind her music including jazz, blues, rock, and her native Wassoulou, and the inspiration for “Clandestin” in particular, before performing the song. Watch the performance here.

Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut EP, Kanou, was released in North America this week, was a guest on Later ... with Jools Holland on BBC Two in the UK. On Tuesday's half-hour show, she performed her song "Clandestin," another live version of which is featured on the EP. You can watch the Later performance here. Fans in the UK can see Diawara perform again on this week's hour-long Later show Friday night.

Fatoumata Diawara makes her North American recording debut with today's release of the digital EP Kanou. Inspired by Wassoulou tradition, jazz, and blues, Diawara has created her own unique contemporary folk sound, giving a distinctly African spin to the concept of the female singer-songwriter. "Like her mentor [Oumou] Sangaré," says the Financial Times, "Diawara combines feminist social conscience with effortless melodic charm." The Kanou digital EP includes four tracks plus the video for the song "Bissa." Watch the video here.