Paris, France – Malian musician Idrissa Soumaoro has won the 2004 Radio France International (RFI) World Music Award.
The musical credentials of Idrissa Soumaoro are impeccable. Having learned his trade with Les Ambassadeurs with Salif Keita in Bamako, he has been a force within Malian music for a number of years, receiving the Knight of the National order of Mali in recognition of his contribution to Malian culture and music. This came to the notice of famed African producer, Ibrahim Sylla (Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Ismael Lo), who has taken Idrissa and created the album Köte, which came out this year. Over the past thirty years and more, Idrissa has taught music to the blind and former pupils of his include the famous Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. Idrissa, a former member of Les Ambassadeurs (where he shared the limelight with Salif Keita), now has his own group, Les Compagnons. Idrissa may be renowned for his rectitude and honesty, but this does not stop him wielding his own powerful brand of satire in his work. His album, Köte, on Wrasse Records, distributed by Caroline in the US, features an interesting mix of blues and
traditional Malian sounds.
Idrissa is an amazing person, by day he teaches music to visually handicapped children and teaches them to read through the use of braille; in the evenings he then plays his music rooted in the blues.
France’s annual RFI World Music Award has unearthed up-and-coming talents from Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean region. The majority of past winners – who include Rokia Traoré, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Didier Awadi and blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam – have gone on to enjoy successful international careers.
The finalists along with Idrissa were Senegalese fusion maestro Abdou Guité Seck and the Guinean group Ba Cissoko. A jury, chaired by last year’s winner Rokia Traoré, announced their verdict this week after a live show at the French Cultural Centre in Bamako on Thursday, 2 December.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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