Rokia Traore's rise through the world music ranks from promising newcomer to fully-fledged star has been a meteoric one. Born into a well-educated Malian family, her father was a diplomat. That meant postings abroad, so that early on Rokia was able to absorb different cultures. She got to see different parts of the world from a young age including the US, the Middle East and Europe.
The Bamana (Bambara) ethnic group from which she comes does not impose the same strict restriction on singing in public that some other groups practise, and although she's not an hereditary griotte, she decided that singing was something she was interested in pursuing. She was immersed in a rich and varied musical environment - getting enjoyment from her father's record collection. While at high school she sang and joined various bands. Later she appeared on Malian TV, performing her first compositions with just voice and her guitar.
She did not make the decision to become a professional singer until 1996, at the age of 22. The following year, she won the Radio France Internationale prize as 'African discovery of the year.' Her revelatory debut album, Mouneïssa, appeared in 1998, to widespread acclaim. The follow-up, Wanita, released in 2000, was even better and was voted album of the year in the fRoots annual poll. She reinforced the good impression with a spectacular appearance at WOMAD that summer that stole the weekend.
Now three years later she's raised the bar again with Bowmboï. Co-produced by Rokia and Thomas Weill, many of her now familiar trademarks are in place, such as the innovative blending of instruments not usually heard together in African music, notably the ngoni and balaba (a large balafon from the Beledougou region, her ancestral home). But Bowmboï is also a record that breaks new ground far beyond the stereotypes with which African music is often still branded in the west. There's a strength and confidence to Rokia's voice that reflects the richness of both her culture and her recent experience.
"Between the second album and this record, I took singing lessons and a music theory class. I studied vocal techniques and that's definitely given my singing more confidence," she says. "But the spirit you hear in the music is not about technique or what I do on the record. It's because of what I have lived through."
| 1. |
M'bifo |
6. |
Deli |
| 2. |
Sara |
7. |
Nienafing |
| 3. |
Kote Don |
8. |
Kele Mandi |
| 4. |
Mariama |
9. |
Kanou |
| 5. |
Manian |
10. |
Bowmboi |
