July 13, 2011

Amadou & Mariam//Ce N'est Pas Bon

Continuing in yesterday's tradition of bands with ampersands, I've been hearing about Amadou & Mariam for a while now. Although the duo's been performing since the 70s, this is really the first song I've heard from them that truly grabbed me. The song's obviously got a political bent, which does a lot to give it some serious soul (from my now-limited understanding of the French language, I would say the song is focused on corrupt political leadership). That said, it's the use of varied soundscapes that really grabbed my attention.

Amadou & Mariam met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, married, and have been playing music, often described as "afro-blues" or "Malian blues," ever since. They've also supported acts as (weirdly) diverse as Blur, Scissor Sisters, U2 and Coldplay.

This jam is from their 2008 album Welcome to Mali.



Ce N'est Pas Bon.mp3

Dictators in politics:
It is not good, it is not good
For the people.

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