Mamou Sidibe Downloads

Mamou Sidibe's father is an experienced balafon player and her mother a famous singer. She forged her talent at their sides. Later, she is remarked during the feasts of the village at the moonlight. Teenager, she sings to encourage the peasants in the fields.Well decided to make a career, Mamou... Learn More »

Mamou Sidibe's father is an experienced balafon player and her mother a famous singer. She forged her talent at their sides. Later, she is remarked during the feasts of the village at the moonlight.

Teenager, she sings to encourage the peasants in the fields.Well decided to make a career, Mamou leaves her village to settle in Bamako. And, in the Eighties she integrates the group of Oumou Sangaré. Chorus-singer, she takes part in the realization of her first album which had a huge success: "With Oumou Sangaré, I learned much, she reinforced my passion for the music", she specifies.

Through the "Sumu", the ceremonies of baptism and marriage, Mamou consolidates her assets and leaves the group of Oumou Sangaré, Caprice? Rather desire to undertake a career solo. But ten years will have to pass before she can prove her talent... Finally, she begins the repetitions with Moussa Koné: "When Mamou came here, at the beginning of 1998, in spite of her beautiful voice, she had to work a lot. I even thought that she was going to give up. But she remained courteous and was never irritated ", explains Yves Wernert of Mali K7.

Endowed of a formidable capacity of work and a savage will, Mamou Sidibé manages to achieve her goal with her first recording. Success is at the end of the effort.

"Nakan" (the destiny), her first album produced by Philippe Berthier, realized by Yves Wernert and arranged by Moussa Koné launched Mamou in the court of the divas of the Malian song.

Interview Express (1999)

Did you wanted by this album to give a reply to techno Issa?
Mamou: those who know me already call me "Techno Mamou" but sincerely there are not a great difference between the music of Wassoulou and that of Ganadougou. I think that near the traditional music, we need another kind of music to recreate Malian youth and to be used to them as a reference mark.

What is your preferred topic?
I do not have a particular topic but my position compared to the behaviour of youth, is rather inspired by the councils like the proverb... if youth knew.

Do you want to say something which disturbs you?
I wanted to speak about a fact that I have not been confronted to but which is the enemy of all the artists. I want to speak about piracy. It is necessary that everybody understand that without the royalties, an artist cannot live even less produce another album for his fans. I wanted also to invite the authorities to more diligence in the treatment of this file and our elder to a better organization to fight the common enemy.

I thank you!

Mamou Sidibé Artist
The woman does not have the importance she deserves "

Remarks collected by Moussa Bolly (2003)

Mamou Sidibé new album "Musoya" "Nakan" (Destiny) is the title of the first album which marked, in 1999, the entering of the Mamou Sidibé on the Malian musical scene. A national success (approximately 35.000 specimens sold in Mali) which also allowed the superb voice of Ganadougou, to make a shy but promising step in the international showbiz. Lately, Techno, Girl was a little erased scene. Why? She explains it with opened heart, in the interview she gave us.

Interview :

Le Reflet: That makes a long time that you are not seen on scene. What explains this fold?
Mamou: I drew back a little move in order to devote myself to the composition and the recording of my album "Musoya". That was necessary because I am now condemned to do better than the first cassette which was very well accommodated by the music lovers, especially by the children and the Young people.
- tell us a bit about this new album?
It is an album of twelve titles which was released on the market on last 3rd April. I gave the best of myself to answer the awaiting of my fans and to deserve their confidence. In spite of the economic situation which is presently hard, they continue to sacrifice to be able to buy legal cassettes. I hope that the album will match the expectations.

- What are the messages contained in this opus?
I called the album "Musoya" which is also its headlight title. I pay homage to the women accused of all the sins of Israel and on whom the negative consequences of all the evils of our societies and all the political conflicts fall down. It is not easy to be a woman in the African society. If a couple is long to have a child, the wife is systematically indexed.
It is almost never admitted that a man can be also sterile. If a child of the family fails in life, it is the mother who is accused. The women are the first victims of the war, the food shortage, the poverty and other social plagues. And yet in our countries, one can avoid many problems or crises if one gives to woman all the importance she deserves. I also speak about poverty in front of which one should never accept to lose his honour and his dignity. Peace, death, famine, conflicts of generation, schooling, etc are the other topics approached in Musoya.

- What distinguishes Nakan from Musoya?
The first album is exclusively techno whereas on Musoya, there are only four techno tracks. We moved back to jump, not that we do not have ideas but because we are conscious that the revalorization of the traditional instruments, of the pillars of our traditions and our culture, is a duty for us the artists. The eight other titles are thus arranged on the traditional instruments like the dun dun, the calabash, the kamalen ngoni, the flute...
But when you hear certain rhythms, you will think that they come from electric instruments. It’s wrong; it is the calabash which gives all this effects. We only wanted to show that with our instruments, one can obtain all sonorities and arrange all the rhythms. We could have exclusively made an album with our instruments, but we did not want to break abruptly and completely with the electric instruments. I hope that this new experiment will be understood by Malians and that it will bear its fruits.

- Nakan, your first album, had much success. Did it financially match your expectations?
Thanks to God! Even the simple fact of being able to put an album on the market is a great chance and an immense happiness, for which it is always necessary to thank Allah. I almost profited from no financial repercussion of the success of Nakan because of piracy. It is one of the most pirated albums in Mali of the last years. Fortunately, it brought me notoriety, recognition of my compatriots and a lot of relations. That’s a great social and moral comfort that no fortune can grant. Apart from the national recognition, I had the chance to take part in festivals like Africolor in Saint Denis (France) and tours in Europe. Not all the artists have this chance with their first album. I owe that to Allah and Mali k7.

- What did these tours bring to you?
A very large and enriching experiment. I had many contacts and enough opportunities of looking further into my musical knowledge and evaluate the way I have to follow to equal the level of my elder on the international scene like Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré, Nahawa Doumbia, Rokia Traoré, etc. I think I have progressed and I hope that the music lovers will feel that on Musoya.

- The word of the end?
This album was realised with a certain maturity especially in the spirit of solidarity and fraternity. It comes to the music lovers to judge the fruit of my work. The only council that I give them, it is to buy legal cassettes of their artists. if they pay a pirate cassette even at 300 FCFA (0,46 €), I do not have a anything in it. It is the same situation for all the other artists of the country. But, by paying a legal work at 900 (1,37 €) or 1.000 FCFA (1,52 €), they give us the possibility of living in the decency and of being able to produce other cassettes. I greet the initiative of the authorities which gave a machine for sticker to the Malian office of author’s right (BUMDA). I would like to say to the Malian office of author’s right that the struggle against piracy is a combat of everyday, the pirates will never come to give themselves up, it is necessary to carry out a fight without mercy to arrive at end of this gangrene which mines the Malian music. To finish, I will request a change of a change of behaviour to the music lovers without whom the fight against piracy will be difficult.
If they decide to boycott pirated works, they will save us from misery and precariousness.
I finally pay homage to Tata Diakité painfully snatched from our affection on last 24th January. Let her soul rests in the infinite grace of Allah. I was particularly affected by this tragedy and brutal disappearance of Tata because the day before her accident, she was with me in the studio. She made the chorus of my album with generosity, humility, courtesy and professionalism.

Moussa Bolly - le Reflet N° 294 of February 10th, 2003
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