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Journal Archives for Oumou Sangare

  • Voices United for Mali: "Mali-ko" (Peace / La Paix)
    Friday, January 18, 2013
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    Watch: Fatoumata Diawara Gathers Malian Artists As Voices United for Mali to Record Song for Peace

    In response to the current situation in Mali, Fatoumata Diawara has gathered together over 40 of Mali’s most renowned musicians in a studio in Bamako to record a song and video calling for peace titled "Mali-ko" (Peace / La Paix). Known collectively as Voices United for Mali, the group includes Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangare, Toumani Diabate, Afel Bocoum, Bassekou Kouyate, Vieux Farka Toure, and others. Watch the video and read the lyrics and their translation here.

  • Half the Sky: Emmylou Harris, Rokia Traoré, Fatoumata Diawara, Oumou Sangare
    Monday, September 10, 2012
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    Emmylou Harris, Rokia Traoré, Fatoumata Diawara, Oumou Sangare Support "Half the Sky" With Free Downloads

    Emmylou Harris, Rokia Traoré, Fatoumata Diawara, and Oumou Sangare are participating in 30 songs / 30 days, in which female musicians from around the world have come together to support the Half the Sky movement. Through the 30 songs / 30 days project, one song per day is available to download for the month of September and leading up to the October 1 & 2 premiere of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a four-hour PBS documentary inspired by the widely acclaimed book of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. 

  • Oumou Sangare by Ed Alcock, Paris
    Monday, August 1, 2011
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    Oumou Sangare, "Regal, Righteous and Funky" (NY Times), Brings North American Tour to a Close

    Malian singer Oumou Sangare concluded her North American tour this weekend with shows in Brooklyn and Maine. "Regal, righteous and funky," exclaims New York Times music critic Jon Pareles, "the Malian singer and songwriter Oumou Sangare commanded the stage of Celebrate Brooklyn! on Friday night at the Prospect Park Bandshell." Through her music and lyrics, this longtime champion of women's rights took on "the traditional West African singer’s role as community conscience while delivering her messages with a modern kick."

  • Oumou Sangare 2
    Friday, July 22, 2011
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    Oumou Sangare Launches North American Tour "At the Summit of Her Art" (Boston Globe)

    Oumou Sangare launches a rare North American tour this weekend with a free set at the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique in Montreal tonight before heading to the States and the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. The tour includes additional stops in Boston, Manhattan, Maine, and Brooklyn. The Boston Globe says: "A visit from this charismatic queen of Malian music and fierce combatant for women’s rights is always an occasion, not least because, as seen on her most recent album, Seya, she’s at the summit of her art."

  • Oumou Sangare, Audra McDonald
    Thursday, January 7, 2010
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    Oumou Sangare, Audra McDonald Nominated for NAACP Image Awards; McDonald to Sing at National Championship Football Game

    Oumou Sangare and Audra McDonald have been nominated for NAACP Image Awards: Oumou for her latest album, Seya, and Audra for her work on the ABC series Private Practice. Audra will be performing on ABC tonight, singing "God Bless America" during the pregame show at the National Championship football game in Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium.

  • 2009 Best of NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe
    Monday, December 21, 2009
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    NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, MTV: Nonesuch Albums Among the Year's Best

    Two New York Times music critics have Nonesuch albums on their Top Ten lists: Rokia Traoré's Tchamantché and Oumou Sangare's Seya. The Washington Post has Alarm Will Sound's a/rhythmia in its Top Ten classical albums; the Denver Post has Richard Goode and John Adams. Two Boston Globe critics have Wilco (the album) on their lists, while others there add BlakRoc and Seya. MTV includes Wilco plus Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali. PopMatters and American Songwriter cite Wilco as well, while the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle lists Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi.

  • 2009 Best of WSJ, Sunday Times, TONY, WNYC
    Friday, December 18, 2009
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    Several Nonesuch Artists Make Year and Decade's Best Lists from Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times, Time Out, WNYC

    The Wall Street Journal sees Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi as an example of "cause for optimism" in music this year. The Sunday Times places Amadou & Mariam's Dimanche à Bamako among the best pop/rock music of the '00s. Time Out includes Oumou Sangare's Seya and Christina Courtin's debut among the year's best albums and NYC performances by Toumani Diabaté and Wilco among the year's best shows. In "a phenomenal decade for world music," says WNYC, Ali Farka Touré's Savane is among the decade's best, with Youssou N'Dour's Egypt at No. 1.

  • Grammy Award
    Thursday, December 3, 2009
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    Allen Toussaint, Wilco, Shawn Colvin, Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangare All Nominated for Grammys

    The nominations are in for the 52nd Grammy Awards and include five Nonesuch artists: Allen Toussaint for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, The Bright Mississippi; Wilco for Best Americana Album, Wilco (the album); Shawn Colvin for Best Contemporary Folk Album, Live; and, for Best Contemporary World Music Album, both Amadou & Mariam (Welcome to Mali) and Oumou Sangare (Seya). Steven Epstein was nominated as Producer of the Year, Classical, for work including John Adams's Doctor Atomic Symphony.

  • Oumou Sangare "Seya" [cover]
    Monday, October 5, 2009
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    Audiophile Audition: Five Stars for Oumou Sangare's "Seya"; Evokes "Beauty and Exultation"

    Seya, Oumou Sangare's first international release in six years, received its US release on Nonesuch earlier this year to great acclaim. Audiophile Audition adds its own praise with a five-star review. "[T]he album is a delicious stew of exotic sounds and rhythms that tickle the ears and stir the senses," says the review. "'Seya' means 'Joy,' and considering the beauty and exultation it evokes it is aptly named."

  • Oumou Sangare "Seya" [cover]
    Monday, July 27, 2009
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    Pitchfork: 8.1 for Oumou Sangare's "Seya"; Songs' "Dynamic, Vibrant Character" Matches Her "Towering" Vocals

    Oumou Sangare was among the performers at this past weekend's WOMAD in the UK. BBC Radio 3 has coverage from the festival, and the Daily Telegraph says Oumou's set found her "wreathing her airy voice around her band’s funky harp-based rhythms," building "to a rapturous finale." Pitchfork gives her new album, Seya, an 8.1, praising "its seamless mix of old and new sounds." Dusted says the album's title, which means "Joy," is an apt one, as that's "a sentiment that rings true every time the songbird of Wassoulou opens her mouth."

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