An Exceptional Concert: -M-, “ÎL” EST UNE ÂME, le Baptême de LAMOMALI

We are all connected. By atoms and stardust, by the heart and by the soul. By nature. By the universe. By music.

LAMOMALI is the new album from -M-, Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté, accompanied by Fatoumata Diawara and many other artists from all walks of life. LAMOMALI is an African pop album of great importance.

"This is the album that I've wanted to make for a long time", confesses the singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrument player Matthieu Chédid, alias -M-.
"No, I don't know Africa" he sang in 1999 in Mama Sam (from the album Je Dis Aime); and since then he has come a long way… In 2006, at the festival "Les Paris Bamako", -M- recorded a charity single alongside other famous musicians (C’est Le Bonheur) in aid of young blind people in Bamako; next he worked with Amadou and Mariam on the piece Masiteladi (which appeared on their album Welcome To Mali in 2008). The connection became even stronger with Amssétou, a song that he dedicated to Mali on his album, Mister Mystère in 2009.

"Twenty years ago, I began working with musicians from Mali in Paris. Ten years later, I went to Mali to meet musicians, including Toumani. This is my African side coming through, for sure", says Chédid, who is of Lebanese-Egyptian origin, "but I really got a sense of coming back home".

LAMOMALI is thus the fruit of a close bond between Matthieu Chédid, an accomplished live performer who has received eight Victoires de la musique awards, and the reserved but wonderful and highly-respected Toumani Diabaté, from a dynasty that has made the kora (a 21-string harp with a resonator made from a calabash) one of the most symbolic African instruments. His eldest son Sidiki, a rising hip hop star (at just 25 years old, he is filling stadiums in Mali) has also been part of the adventure.
Toumani and Sidiki are the 71st and 72nd generation in a long line of masters of the kora going back to Mandinka times, during an era when West Africa was one country. “My aim was always to introduce the rest of the world to Mandinka music, and to show people that music has no borders”, explains Toumani, who, while developing a style firmly-rooted in tradition, has remained very open to collaborations. During his career, the musician has therefore tried his hand at many musical genres and has collaborated with artists like Björk and Damon Albarn. “I don’t play other people’s music and they don’t play mine”, he explains. “Every time we share our music with others, we create something new”.

The Diabaté family are griots, a hereditary cast of poets, musicians and story-tellers, who, for a long time, have accompanied songs of praise to kings, presidents and patrons with their kora. After performing with Toumani on the stages of London, Paris and Bamako, and recording a large part of LAMOMALI in his living room, -M- was named griot of honour by his long-time friend and collaborator. “Toumami tells me over and over again that I am a griot, and it makes me laugh because I know that I'll never truly be one of them. But he sees me as African and to him I am like a brother”, explains -M-. “When I perform with Toumani, it‘s like a religious experience. We feel exactly the same vibe (…). It’s always magical”.

Exceptional concert with -M-, "ÎL" EST UNE ÂME, le Baptême de LAMOMALI © FDC

Fatoumata Diawara © RR

LAMOMALI - Album Cover © RR

LAMOMALI Band © Laurent Segretier

Matthieu Chedid © Yann Orhan

Sidiki Diabaté © RR

Toumani Diabaté © RR

"In Bamako, I immediately saw that Matthieu was an amazing guitarist, and how much he loved the style of Ali Farka Touré", adds Toumani who collaborated with his Mali compatriot (who died in 2006) on two albums that received a Grammy Award, In the Heart of the Moon (2005) and Ali and Toumani (2010).

Throughout the album, prestigious guests come one after the other. Half of the album's tracks are enhanced by the voice of Fatoumata Diawara, a Malian soul diva (introduced to the general public by the film "Timbuktu", which swept up 7 awards at the Césars in 2015, including best French film and best soundtrack.

LAMOMALI pays tribute to the kora, to Mali; to Africa and to the world; an album that's bursting with life, love, talent and courage, tradition, innovation and unbridled imagination. A dream project started by a gifted artist who wanted to reinvent himself. "I sowed the seed and then I watched it grow and then blossom into an extraordinary and multi-coloured African world. A universal world." says-M- with modesty.

Jane Cornwell.