Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam are a group from Bamako, Mali, active from 1980. The act consists of Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko, together with Les Paris Bamako.

Background

Doumbia sings and Bagayoko plays guitar and sings. They meet at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind and discover a shared interest in music. Both are born in Bamako, and they are often described as the blind couple from Mali. Bagayoko dies in 2025.

Style and collaborations

Their music combines Malian traditional sound with rock guitar and a range of other instruments and influences, including Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Colombian trombones, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion. This blend is often described as Afro-blues, and their listed genres include african blues and desert blues.

In 2004 they release an album produced by Manu Chao. Their 2008 album Welcome To Mali includes contributions from K'Naan, Keziah Jones, -M- and Damon Albarn. Folila, whose title means “music” in Bambara, is recorded in Bamako and New York with guest appearances by Santigold, TV on the Radio and Jake Shears.

Recognition

They receive BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2006 in the Africa category and for Album of the Year for Dimanche à Bamako. In 2009 they win the Best Group category at the first Songlines Music Awards. Their song “Sabali” is placed 15 in Pitchfork Media’s Top 100 Best Tracks of 2008.