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Nigeria: From a Blind Couple, the Tune of Humanity
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Daily Trust (Abuja)
2 December 2007
Posted to the web 3 December 2007
Muhammad K. Muhammad
Abuja
Amadou Bagayoko, who cut his musical teeth as a guitarist playing with Salif Keita in Les Ambassadeurs, met Mariam Doumbia, who grew up signing at weddings and traditional festivals, in Mali over 30 years ago at an institute for the blind.
The couple joined forces and, together, they began to explore their musical talents.
When the couple met in 1977, Amadou was 20 years old and Mariam was 16. He was the musical director of the institute and she was a student who, occasionally, gave dance lessons. While studying Braille, they performed together in the institute's Eclipse Orchestra. They became extremely fond of each other and married in 1980.
Before attending the Bamako Institute of the Blind, Amadou had previously attended a few other schools. He told Developments, a magazine of the British Department for International Development (DFID), that meeting Mariam "was a turning point for both of us, one that has helped determine our lives". A turning point indeed.
The couple are currently dedicated to addressing the crisis in education, particularly as it affects children with disabilities. They work with different organisations like Sightsavers International and Global Campaign for Education.
Amadou lost his vision when he was 14 years old, though he had been having problem with his sight from an early age. The gradual loss of sight forced him to stop going to school, because the teachers were not equipped to teach children with disability, and turn to the radio for schooling. "As I started to lose my sight, learning became harder. The teachers weren't equipped to teach someone with visual difficulties.... The radio became my teacher - at home, in the car..." he told Developments. He found comfort, he said, in the music of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Wonder.
In 1986, Amadou and Mariam moved to Abidjan, the capital of neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire, where they made their first recording-a series of releases on cassette. These series of releases made them popular back home in Mali, leading to a French producer suggesting that they relocate to Paris in the mid-1990s. Between 1998 and 2002 they made three albums that carved a niche for them in the estimation of music audiences and fans of African music all over the world. These albums were 'Sou Ni Tilé', 'Ge ni Mousso' and 'Wati'.
The duo made a hit on the international scene in 2004 with the release of their album, 'Dimanche à Bamako' in France. Not long afterwards, the record rose to become "number two in the French charts, leaving the likes of James Blunt, Coldplay, Green Day and Mariah Carey all trailing in its wake - the highest chart-placing ever achieved by an African record anywhere in Europe", according to the couple's website.
They won Les Victoires de la Musique award, which is the French equivalent of a Grammy, and were nominated for a 'Prix Constantin', the equivalent of a Mercury.
In Britain, they made it to The Observer's Top Twenty Albums of the year and they went to the UK for the "African Soul Rebels UK Tour 2006" with Souad Massi and Emmanuel Jal. They were described by British media as the "world music crossover success of 2005".
Amadou & Mariam won the 2006 BBC Radio 3 World Music Award. Reviewing the winning performance on the Award's website, Ivan Chrysler said: "Every now and then, a group manages to get just about everything right. They start with great songs, and an irresistible performance style. They team up with the right producer. They sign to the dream label. Their manager is a marketing genius. All around them are people who are ready to devote themselves heart and soul to their cause. They release a record, and they sell a million. It's a rare feat, and even rarer for an African artist, but Amadou & Mariam have just managed to do it with the help of Manu Chao, the Because Label, their manager Marc-Antoine Moreau and all those other nameless but priceless team members".
Amadou and Mariam, by their success, have proven that there is ability in disability: "Mariam and I are living testaments of the ability of people with disabilities - as are David Blunkett, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder, and as were the late Ray Charles and Francisco Goya". They, however, are not content to be just proofs-they want to change the world in their own way.
In 2005, Amadou and Mariam embarked on a drive to raise funds for the Bamako institute through 'Les Paris Bamako festival' and, to this end, they "worked with local and international artistes such as Kaiser Jones, Many Chao, B.A. Cissoko, Electro Bamako, Amy Koita, Mo Dj, Manjul, Tiken Jah Fokoly and Neneh Cherry on an album, with proceeds going towards the school".
In addition, the festival, according to Amadou, "allows us to remain close to the place that 'gave birth' to us and our ideas, the place that allowed us to build the foundations of our career. It's also our way of contributing to change".
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Amadou & Mariam, says Developments, Damon Albarn, Kaiser Jones, Scratch from the Roots and friends are billed to perform at 'Eclipse' at London's Southbank Centre on the 18 May 2008. The performances will immerse the audience in darkness, where they will be encouraged to use their senses to explore the music and environment.
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