In Mali, where Fatoumata Diawara was raised, it is common for women to sing, but much rarer for women to play an instrument. As a result, Fatoumata—who is one of the first, if not the first woman guitarist in all of Mali—has developed a self-taught, intuitive guitar playing style that is entirely her own. “This way of playing, it's me,” says Fatoumata. “It represents my fight as a musician, as an African, and as a lady on stage.” In this episode of Object of Sound, Fatoumata talks to Hanif about how she discovered her calling as a musician, and the exciting ways that she is fusing the traditional music of her homeland with Western influences on her third studio album, out next year. Hanif closes the episode with a selection of blues and folk music from Mali. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode, head over to radio.sonos.com.
Music In This Week’s Episode:
Kalan - Fatoumata Diawara
Bassemory - Mamou Sidibé
Lalla - Tinariwen
Kuma - Salif Keita
Sabali - Amadou & Mariam
Sarama - Oumou Sangaré
Tongo Barra - Vieux Farka Touré, Khruangbin
Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.
The Sound of Where You Come From (feat. Angélica Negrón)
The Listening Lounge: The Sound of Where You Come From
This Year In Music (feat. Kelela, Sam Sanders, & Santigold)
Celebrating The Last Waltz (feat. Hrishikesh Hirway)
Growing Up and Alongside (feat. Ben Gibbard)
When It’s All Gone, Something Carries On (A Tribute to Scott Hutchison)
The Breakup Album (feat. Tegan and Sara)
The Wonders of Songwriting, Pt. Three (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen)
The Wonders of Songwriting, Pt. Two (feat. Nick Hakim)
The Wonders of Songwriting, Pt. One (feat. Ravyn Lenae)
The One Who Digs (feat. Björk)
Storytelling Through Song (feat. Danielle Ponder)
Writing For the Future (feat. Madison Cunningham)
You Belong To No One (feat. Margo Price)
Homecoming (feat. PJ Morton)
Beautiful (feat. Mavis Staples)
Karaoke Dreams (feat. Marianne Chan, Garvaundo Hamilton, and Raina Lee)
My Anger Is My Friend (feat. Yaeji)
Nothing Is Easy (feat. Jack White)
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