Amadou & Mariam
With over thirty years in the music business, the career of Amadou and Mariam is notable enough for its longevity. However, when you consider the fact that the couple are both blind, their success becomes quite remarkable indeed.
The story of the duo’s career is one of perseverance in the face of adversity. Both born in the 1950s, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia grew up in Mali, a country under colonial rule that was then known as French Sudan. Although both lost their sight during childhood, this didn’t prevent either one from pursuing a musical career. Mariam was well known in her community as a superb singer, while Amadou was entranced by instruments, experimenting with percussion before learning to play the guitar.
In 1977, the couple met at the Institute for the Young Blind in Bamako, and discovered that they shared a passion for music. They decided to put a band together and began working on a sound that combined the vocal and rhythmical styles of traditional African music with elements of western rock and jazz, drawing on the influence of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and James Brown. Despite attempts by some at the Institute to dissuade them for their path, the pair grew closer both musically and romantically, and after leaving the school in 1983 they began to work towards a professional career in music.
The couple spent much of the 1980s playing live wherever they could but found that the lack of producing talent and suitable recording space in Mali was holding them back. Unperturbed, Amadou and Mariam packed up their belongings and moved to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, where they would stay for five years while making their first cassette tape recordings. During this time their popularity spread across West Africa, and after many tours the duo finally returned to Bamako. However, their stay was short lived, as word of their talent had made its way to France, and in 1996 the duo were offered a short-term residency in an African restaurant in Paris. Keen to explore new territory, Amadou and Mariam relocated once more, in a move that would see their career take off in a way neither could have foreseen.
While in Paris, the couple met Polygram producer Marc-Antoine Moreau, who had initially come across their music during a visit to Mali. Moreau was able to secure Amadou and Mariam a record deal with Polygram’s Emarcy label, and the duo started work on an album. The result was ‘Sou Ni Tile’, the duo’s first studio album recorded outside Africa, which went on to sell over 100,000 copies across the country.
Two albums later, the pair were joined by Manu Chao, who began working with them as a producer and collaborator. With Chao onboard, their next album, ‘Dimanche á Bamako’, was a massive hit. The record became one of the best-selling African albums of all time, and won the duo a number of awards. From there, the career of Amadou and Mariam quite literally exploded. They toured internationally, recorded three more studio albums, worked on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and collaborated with renowned musicians such as Damon Albarn.
One of the most internationally successful African acts ever – particularly in the French-speaking world – Amadou and Mariam have never looked back since daring to escape their humble beginnings. They are so popular that not only did they play at the opening ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but they also made the line up for the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This only a year after supporting Blur during a concert in London’s Hyde Park. Amadou and Mariam are proof that there is no mountain that cannot be climbed if you believe in your talent and have the drive to make your dreams a reality: they are an inspiration to everyone.
