A compilation of the Malian Duo’s post 1998 best work; the perfect entry-point for new converts to the Amadou & Mariam cause.

Release Date:  6^th September 2024

Label: Because Music

Formats: 2CD / Vinyl (2LP) / Digital

a fine compilation

It’s plain to see that La Vie Est Belle – a compilation of the finest post-1998 moments in the career of Malian duo Amadou & Mariam – has been put together with great thought, great care and great love.  The 18 tracks included on the album reach into every aspect of the duo’s extensive repertoire, from authentic Malian street music to super-sophisticated blends of electronica-soaked electro-pop – calling at all stations, stops and ports in-between – and, never once do Amadou and Mariam lose the faintest of touches with their African roots.  If your record collection is missing a chunk of Amadou & Mariam, La Vie Est Belle is your golden opportunity to correct what you’re sure to find is a glaring omission.

This latest compilation – which draws heavily from the duo’s successful string of post-millennial albums – Dimanche à Bamako (2004), Welcome to Mali (2008), Folila (2012) and La Confusion (2017) – serves as a companion to L’Intègrale Des Anées Maliennes, the 2005 compilation of the earliest work of Amadou & Mariam and offers the opportunity for collectors to acquire a comprehensive overview of the highlights of an intriguing career.

Award winning…

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia first met at the Bamako (Mali) Institute for Young Blind People in the 1970s and went on to captivate audiences throughout Mali and the Ivory Coast, before being spotted in the early 1990s by maverick talent scout Marc-Antoine Moreau, who would later, as the duo’s manager, encourage them to go international.  Since then, they’ve built a list of achievements that can only be described as ‘phenomenal.’ 

Dimanche à Bamako won the French Victoire de la Musique World Music Album of the Year award and also won the duo a Platinum Disc; they were selected to compose the theme music for the 2006 FIFA World Cup – their song, Celebrate the Day, which Mariam performed with Herbert Grönemeyer was a number one hit single in Germany – and, in 2008, Amadou & Mariam enjoyed further success with the Damon Albarn-produced Welcome To Mali album.  The duo have become festival regulars, too, with appearances at Coachella, Latitude, Lollapalooza and at Damon Albarn’s Africa Express under their belt and, on tour, they’ve supported – amongst others – Blur, Coldplay and The Scissor Sisters.

an eclectic line

As I’ve already hinted, Amadou & Mariam ply an eclectic line in their musical trade.  Western rock, disco and electronica influences sit comfortably alongside more exotic strains that include Arabian strings, Cuban brass and Indian percussion and – always – Amadou & Mariam stay true to their roots; the starting point for their compositions and performances is, invariably, traditional Malian music.  The songs selected for La Vie Est Belle tell the listener everything they’ll need to know about Amadou & Mariam.

Tracks from Dimanche à Bamako feature particularly prominently on La Vie Est Belle and the selections from that album alone provide the strongest of indications of just how versatile and open to outside influences Amadou & Mariam truly are.  Take Beaux Dimanches, for example: the authentic street sounds of the Mali capital, awash with drums, plucked strings and exotic horns are guaranteed to transport the most jaded of listeners to the warmth of a Malian market square, whilst a reggae flavour is detectable amongst the punchy guitar, swirling organ and wailing sirens of the party-like La Réalité. 

Senegal Fast Food, a 2005 French top thirty hit single for the duo is bright, bouncy and huge fun, as it asks the semi-rhetorical question, “Il est minuit à Tokyo; Il est cinq heures au Mali.  Quelle heure est-il au Paradis?” and the tabla and the acoustic instrumentation brings a subcontinental flavour to the charming M’Bifé.  And, if you fancy something a little more attuned to the space-age, the give a listen to Coulibaly, and electronic and electrifying collaboration with Senegalese-American rapper, Akon.

collaborations

Ah – collaborations…  That’s an area in which Amadou & Mariam specialize, and nowhere more so than on their Welcome to Mali album, a collection that is also strongly represented here. 

Indeed, Damon Albarn is present and correct on Sabali, the potent mix of African tradition and electronic euphoria that opens this compilation, whilst synth-popper M is the guest for the rocky, punchy, utterly brilliant Masiteladi and K’Naan, another rapper with African/North American antecedents steps forward to add his hip-hop ingredients to Amadou & Mariam’s surging African rhythms on Africa.  And, even when Damon left the duo to their own devices during the recording of Welcome to Mali, they continued to come up with the goods, with the simmering electric guitars never quite dispelling the traditional feel of the rocky protest song, Ce N’est Pas Bon.

Other highlights of this amazing collection include Bofou Safou, a heady blend of art-rock, disco and electro-pop, Dougou Badia, an urgent, rocky number from the 2012 Folila album that features US vocalist Santigold, Je Pense a Toi, a strident, folky singalong that demonstrates – in case we had any lingering doubts – what Malian folk-rock REALLY sounds like, and the funky, powerful C’est Chaud from the La Confusion album – a song in which the driving rhythm and the crisp guitar belie the sadness in the song’s lyrics, which tell a (familiar, I strongly suspect) story of leaving home, family and loved ones to seek a ‘better’ life in Europe or America, only to encounter insecurity, war, hatred and prejudice.

looking forwards

But La Vie Est Belle isn’t all about looking backwards, worthy though these songs are of reappraisal and celebration.  There’s also a few new songs to enjoy and, just maybe, they point the direction in which Amadou & Mariam will be heading next.  New single, Mogolu (the title means ‘People’ in Bambara) is another enticing mix of the traditional and the modern.  Afro rhythms are brought face-to-face with western embellishment and, best of all, Mariam’s warm vocals convey a wonderful message that will resonate, even if, like me, you don’t understand a single word of the Bambara lyrics.

And La Vie Est Belle, the title track of the collection, is another song that provides an enticing glimpse of what the future might hold for Amadou & Mariam.  As the title suggests, it’s bright, happy, song with a positive, irresistible, dance rhythm and light, dreamy vocals.  Amadou & Mariam don’t stint on the electronics, but they don’t neglect their Mali roots, either.

transgressing cultural boundaries

And, so – to close.  Amadou & Mariam have selected Sete, their 2022 collaboration with BLOND:ISH and Francis Mercier to conclude their compilation – and what a wise choice they’ve made.  Once again, they transgress all cultural boundaries with what, on the surface at least, appears to be a vibrant disco number.  But, listen closely – the Bambara lyrics and Mariam’s phrasing are from another world completely and – you know what?  It’s another perfect blend.

If you don’t yet have any Amadou & Mariam in your collection, now’s the time – and the perfect opportunity – to correct a glaring omission.

Watch the official video to Beaux Dimanches – a track from the album – here:

Amadou & Mariam online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / Bandcamp

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