Rokia Traoré and Amadou & Mariam have been announced the winners of the inaugural Songlines Music Awards, created by Songlines magazine to recognize outstanding talent in world music. Rokia has won the Best Artist award, and Amadou & Mariam have been named Best Group. "This Songlines Award means a lot to me," says Rokia, "not just because it comes from a magazine I respect and one that has always been supportive of my music, but also because at this stage in my career it is an honor to still be recognized for my continued efforts to make my music better."
Rokia Traoré and Amadou & Mariam have been announced the winners of the inaugural Songlines Music Awards. Rokia has won the Best Artist award for her latest release, Tchamantché, and Amadou & Mariam have been named Best Group for their new album, Welcome to Mali.
The Songlines Music Awards were established to continue the tradition of the now-defunct BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music, recognizing outstanding talent in world music. The nominees were chosen by a public vote, and the winners were chosen by the Songlines editorial team.
"This Songlines Award means a lot to me," says Rokia, "not just because it comes from a magazine I respect and one that has always been supportive of my music, but also because at this stage in my career it is an honor to still be recognized for my continued efforts to make my music better. Thank you."
"The audience for world music is greater now than it’s ever been," says Simon Broughton, editor-in-chief of Songlines, "and it’s reaching out in ever more diverse directions. The fact that we had the bluesy African duo Amadou & Mariam and Damon Albarn’s Monkey project amongst the nominees is indicative of that. But it’s still essential to have awards in which the leading names can be fêted and the new and innovative names highlighted.”
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In conjunction with the announcement of the award winners, The Times (UK) is offering free downloads of songs from the winners in each of the four categories.
"The Malian singer slips into another gear on her latest album," The Times writes of Rokia. "She might be of slender build, but there's no doubting the power and intensity of her vocals." And of Amadou & Mariam, the paper says that "it's their catchy, upbeat musical fusion of pop and West African sounds that is winning over audiences."
There's more at entertainment.timesonline.co.uk.
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The Songlines Music Awards are run in partnership with WOMAD festival, culminating in performances by a selection of the nominated artists, including Rokia, at WOMAD in Charlton Park in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England, July 24–26, 2009.
For more information, visit songlines.co.uk.
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