Amadou and Miriam : What's their deal?

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Yes, but these folks are in France and I don't have to be around them which makes them more endearing than their American counterparts.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:03 (7 years ago) Permalink

I find violent criminals endearing so long as they stay locked up in jail!

― High Tea in the Chinese Quarter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

ok, I'm totally playing devil's advocate.

― High Tea in the Chinese Quarter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

Hey if the Franchies can dig Jerry Lewis I can be amused by their weird attempts to appropriate gypsy culture. Whatever this has to do with Manu Chao I have no idea.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:35 (7 years ago) Permalink

haha

― High Tea in the Chinese Quarter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

once again, i have to really recommend "Siberie M'etait Contee". There's so little info on this. Is it a proper Manu Chao album? Is it available anywhere in the states?

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:44 (7 years ago) Permalink

Anywhere to legally hear some of this online?

― Mickey (modestmickey), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:48 (7 years ago) Permalink

Amazon and junk'll have it. It's on the listening at the Tower near me.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

Amazon does have it, but it's a "limited edition import" and lists 6 tracks and not much information.

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

um?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

if, hypothetically people are interested in hearing the "Siberie", maybe email info at jazzinfection dot com? hypothetically.

― b'angelo, Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

and, yeah, it seems difficult to find. It is a collaboration w/a french illustrator, i guess there's an accompanying book as well?

― b'angelo, Thursday, 20 October 2005 16:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

Oh sorry to be unclear Alex, I was talking about Siberie.

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 20 October 2005 17:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

I got the 'Best Of' which compiles their previous three albums and it is Solid. Very different from the techno-tight Chao production. I'm not sure if either is better than the other, they're both doing different things. I'm listening to them both a lot.

I really like what Chao brought to the new record, I'm fine with toe-tappin' drum machines setting the pulse & extra reverb, it's a strange hybrid. A lot more successful than Chao's solo records (which, like Adam, I can't listen to all the way through).

― milton parker (Jon L), Thursday, 20 October 2005 18:01 (7 years ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

Incredible!!! I am totally sold on Amadou & Miriam.
I have purchased all of their albums through iTunes and I hope to be able to purchase more.
I also hope that they return to the U.S. to perform!
I work for an airline and I will travel to any state to see and hear them.
This is REAL music!!!
After being thoroughly immersed in Amadou & Miriam, I can now say that I have experienced a quality sound which is extremely pleasant and excellent!!!

― humbug ditto, Saturday, 22 April 2006 07:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

This is REAL music!!!
-- humbug ditto (necrofles...), April 22nd, 2006

I like 'em too, but calling them 'real music' presupposes that too many other types of music are not "real" music. I doubt that Amadou & Mariam would use such a term.

― curmudgeon (DC Steve), Saturday, 22 April 2006 15:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

26/04/2006 : MIAMI
salle : Artime Theater

28/04/2006 : SAN FRANCISCO
salle : Bimbo's

― milton parker (Jon L), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

I am still mystified as to why ILM didn't jump all over this album. Last night in Millenium Park they had a good few thousand peeps of all colors and ages (including a really cute couple behind me in their 60s or so) on their feet, arms in the air, hips twisting. Amadou is just a smokin' guitarist. Great band. Beautiful night. I only wish I had caught the whole set...

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Friday, 30 June 2006 16:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

Some ILMers did, some others did not for reasons listed above, and some folks just automatically reject all African music as some sort of staid public radio, National Geographic, old people aging hippie music, or as music for Malians or others who do not have English as their first language, but not for them.

― curmudgeon (DC Steve), Friday, 30 June 2006 17:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

I like it, but it's a little sweet, a little too afro-poppy for me. Just not enough OMG to it.

― pleased to mitya (mitya), Friday, 30 June 2006 17:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

I just heard of them, at http://www.amadou-mariam.com/ where they have a couple of videoes . yes it's very poppy but I liked., especially that high envolée in beau dimangche when he sings Les djembés et les n'doulous(?) résonnent partout

― S. (Sébastien Chikara), Friday, 30 June 2006 17:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

Cool record. The whole transcontinental, multi-culti funk-pop thing usually grates, but "Dimanche a Bamako" transcends all that.

TONS of great tunes, and a surprising amount of variety (love the chanting on "La Réalité" where it sounds like they're saying, "Soul Fire" over and over again). It's light and poppy enuf for summertime dancing & drinking, but the fundamental weight and beauty of the Malian blues base really shines through. Tough tightrope to walk...

Never comes across as weak, watered down, hippified or strictly for the NPR set, either. I mean, it'll certainly appeal very strongly to them fuckers, but it doesn't seem to be a product of their sensibility, or a sop thrown in its direction. Basically, "Dimanche" just sounds natural -- relaxed and joyful in spite of the sometimes heavy-handed mod/pop production.

Truth be told, I could use a little less of Manu Chau on this record. While some of its best moments benefit hugely from his influence ("Caminons Sauvages"), I'd like the album better without borderline-Afro-kitsch tracks like "Sénégal Fast Food" and "Taxi Bamako".

Still, pretty much every tune is instantly appealing, and more than half are durable, out-of-the-park winners. One of the best pure pop albums I've heard in the last few years, no matter what the origins.

P.S. I've heard some of their earlier material, and it hasn't appealed to me nearly as much. Deeper and arguably more "authentic", but the standout tracks are fewer and farther between.

― fuckfuckingfuckedfucker (fuckfuckingfuckedfucker), Friday, 30 June 2006 17:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

They were great last night but I think I liked Seu Jorge's set even better. One hell of a great free double-bill though.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 30 June 2006 18:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

oh and to EconJohn: the reason ILM wasn't all over it is because they were jizzing over Konono instead of course.

and yeah he is a really great guitarist --- got straight-up nasty on some o that stuff.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 30 June 2006 18:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

ffff otm, generally, though i disagree here:
Truth be told, I could use a little less of Manu Chau on this record.

as with too many albums these days it's probably too long by a song or two, but i think the production is what makes Dimanche... so great (my choice for Album of the Year 2005). not to say their earlier records are bad, cuz there's great stuff there as well. but he pulls out/highlights/layers all sorts of stuff that on earlier albums are missed opportunities.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Friday, 30 June 2006 19:06 (6 years ago) Permalink

I like the earlier stuff better, but this is a really good album. I'd like to see them live (and Seu Jorge too!)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 30 June 2006 19:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

I just found this record! My buddy from way back found out I like Manu Chao and knows how I've always had a soft spot for k-jammy Afropop, burned me a copy, labelled it "DUDE!". This is super-classic summertime cruisin' music.

― you can email me if you wish to challenge the truth (nickalicious), Friday, 30 June 2006 20:10 (6 years ago) Permalink

Manu Chao did my head in, playing 24/7 all around Dublin, every frickin' cafe for so long that I can't stomach Amadou and Mariam, I think I've been subjected to some kind of aversion therapy with Manu Chao and anything he touches. Couldn't help feel like they were trying to sell some Manu Chao approved ethno-product to the euro-student set of dreaded french guys and spliff-eyed spaniards.

Totally illogical though all that is.

― Major Alfonso (Major Alfonso), Friday, 30 June 2006 22:43 (6 years ago) Permalink

they were by far the best act i saw at bonnaroo. and i saw a lot of good acts at bonnaroo. they completely packed out the mid-size tent where they were playing. i love the album, so i expected them to be good, but they more than exceeded expectations. i would love to see them again.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 30 June 2006 23:28 (6 years ago) Permalink

i love this album, though i didn't hear it until a few months ago. i haven't yet grown tired of manu chao, despite frequent overplaying of "clandestino" at parties. would love to see them live.

― Emily B (Emily B), Friday, 30 June 2006 23:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

(I hate Manu Chao's hats!)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 1 July 2006 00:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

Maybe Amadou et Mariam can incite world peace, like in that 'Bill & Ted' movie.

Really though, this album is just impossible to hate. Strikes all kinds of "right" balances without being tame or too tasteful. Not sure if one can really *love* it (like another album pimped to the NPR set last year, Sharon Jones') but I'll root for their success. Sometimes good music is just good music and can't be quibbled apart.

― I.M. (I.M.), Sunday, 2 July 2006 08:04 (6 years ago) Permalink

for the nyc'ers, they're doing a free show in a few weeks at summerstage. (i, naturally, will be working.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 2 July 2006 15:35 (6 years ago) Permalink

It looks like Amadou and Miriam will be in Philadelphia this Wednesday (not for free though). That conflicts with something else I want to do, but I'm not sure yet what I'll end up doing. (I may simply leave work with a killing sinus headache, go straight home, and order spicy Szechuan takeout.)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 2 July 2006 16:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

manu chao was the background to most of the parties i ended up at in paris, more better or worse. i kind of got tired of him, his stuff just seems a little too cutesy and eager to please.

but the recent record is really quite good. would like to hear some of their malian cassettes and cds from before they had int'll record deals...just curious.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 23 August 2006 03:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

after posting something on Bassekou on the whirrled music thread, I figured I'd wake this thread for a highly highly recommended crosspost

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Segu Blue

heard this in a soul food place, my friend thought it was Amadou & Miriam but it obviously wasn't the last one and it didn't sound like what I'd heard of their earlier stuff because it was more spare & folky, no traditional drum kit, but their harmonies do sound similar. Album is 100% solid all the way through and completely recommended to anyone who liked the Amadou & Miriam record and wishes they could hear more in that style without all the techno / drum loop trappings, Bassekou can play

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=25184
http://www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

― Milton Parker, Friday, 7 September 2007 02:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

Cool! I'm def going to check that out.

I went to a wedding last year in Marseille and they played Beaux Dimanches, i was all awww.

― W4LTER, Friday, 7 September 2007 02:23 (5 years ago) Permalink

By the way, it's Mariam with an A not an I.

-- Curt (cgould), vendredi 12 août 2005 03:03 (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

please ppl make an effort OK

― blunt, Friday, 7 September 2007 10:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

also "Dogons" is on repeat lately

― blunt, Friday, 7 September 2007 10:46 (5 years ago) Permalink

Uh, I don't see the connection between A&M and Bassekou Kouyate at all (at least, not beyond the shared nationality). Dimanche A Bamako is full-sounding, urban, hooky, propulsive and outward-looking in its influences. Segu Blue is sparse, raw, abstract, reflective, pastoral, traditional. It also centres around the ngoni, whereas A&M don't use them at all (although their guitar playing is ngoni-influenced).

― mike t-diva, Friday, 7 September 2007 11:18 (5 years ago) Permalink

(...but if you place Toumani Diabate between the two, then I think you can trace a discernible line...)

― mike t-diva, Friday, 7 September 2007 11:23 (5 years ago) Permalink

I would agree that the connection is somewhat vague, like I said it's mainly the sound of the choral harmonies -- Segu Blue is largely about showcasing the ngoni playing. waking up this thread may have been impulsive and probably only underlines how little I know about African music, this is less of a musicology based recommendation and more of a 'if-you-liked-that-record-here's-another-one-that-just-came-out-that-you-may-like' post. though I'm always up for any excuse to wake up the Amadou and Mariam thread because I really like them

― Milton Parker, Friday, 7 September 2007 16:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

This is album is among the most well-produced things I've ever heard.

― ○◙genital grinder◙○ (roxymuzak), Monday, 22 September 2008 16:35 (4 years ago) Permalink

― ○◙genital grinder◙○ (roxymuzak), Monday, 22 September 2008 16:36 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Where's the love for the new album? Damon's produced Sabali is a gem.

― elgolfo, Tuesday, 25 November 2008 02:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

I just read Erin M. rave about it on her blog. It's an overpriced import for Americans from Amazon, wonder where else I can get it.

Here they are recently with Johnny Marr--

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 November 2008 14:57 (4 years ago) Permalink

wow thanks

― baaderonixx, Thursday, 27 November 2008 15:04 (4 years ago) Permalink

Yeah "Sabali" is indeed fantastic, reminds me of music I love without pointing to any specific direction.

― baaderonixx, Thursday, 27 November 2008 15:09 (4 years ago) Permalink

this sounds awesome but i am not really loving it

― BIG HOOS is those british white steens (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 27 November 2008 15:12 (4 years ago) Permalink

Why is that? Her voice

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 27 November 2008 15:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 28 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

In case you forgot, here's "Dougo Badia" (feat. Nick Zinner & Santigold)

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 10:46 (1 year ago) Permalink

Seen mixed reviews of it, but have not heard it yet myself (well, one song).

NPR is streaming it for a bit

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/148919868/first-listen-amadou-and-mariam-folila?ps=mh_fl

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 12:55 (1 year ago) Permalink

And the Pitchfork review was discussed on a Pitchfork thread

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 12:56 (1 year ago) Permalink

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