Of youth-harps and songbirds: the sweet music of Wasulu
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v8i2.1780Abstract
In 1992 the West African nation of Mali proudly became a democratic republic under the leadership of the dynamic president, Alpha Oumar Konare. With this political transition came a host of dramatic cultural changes in the nation's capital, Bamako. One such change was a new kind of music called wassoulou. Gritty and funky, yet deeply rooted in the Wasulu traditions of Mali's southeastern heartland, wassoulou and its brilliant female singers carried a new voice to Bamako and beyond: a democratic voice that expressed fresh, youthful, and feminine perspectives about life. In the early 1990s, this new sound invaded the nation's commercial music sector, radio, and television with astounding success and swiftly became the driving musical force in popular culture.References
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Conrad, David C. 2002 Somono Bala of the Upper Niger, Leiden and Boston: Brill
Couloubaly, Pascale Baba F. 1990 Une Société Rurale Bambara à travers des Chants de Femmes, Ifan-Dakar: Université Cheick Anta Diop
Diarra, Boubacar S. 1998a "Review of Djeneba Diakité: Nouvelle Cassette 'Fourou"', Le Mag, February
1998b "Kamélé N'Goni: Origine", Le Mag, March
Dúran, Lucy 1995 "Birds of Wassulu: Freedom of Expression and Expressions of Freedom in the Popular Music of Southern Mali", British Journal of Ethnomusicology 4:101-34
2000 "Women, Music, and the 'Mystique' of Hunters in Mali", in Ingrid Monson (ed.) The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective, pp. 137-185. New York: Routledge
2007 "Ngaraya: Women and musical mastery in Mali", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 70 (3):569-602
Hoffman, Barbara G. 2000 Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation, and Caste in Mande, Bloomington: Indiana University Press
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1999 "West Africa: When The Xylophone Speaks", in Turn Up The Volume: A Celebration of African Music, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, pp. 58-67
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2003 "Divas of the Wassulu Sound: Transformations in the Matrix of Global Opportunity", Consumption, Markets and Culture 6 (1)
Modic, Kate E. 1996 "Song, Performance, and Power: The Bèn Ka Di Women's Association in Bamako, Mali", Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University
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Diakité, Boubacar 2002 Interview by author, 13 August. Bloomington, Indiana.
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Doumbia, Kon Kan Kon, Aissata 1999-2000 Interviews by author. Field Recording Collection Tape 8.
Maikano and Moussa Mariko 2000 Interview by author, 25 January. Field Recording Collection Tape 14.
Mariko, Moussa Remi 1999-2000 Interviews by author. Field Recording Collection Tape 2a.
Sidibé, Brehima 2000 Interviews by author.
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Sidibé, Bintu with Remi Mariko 1999 Interviews and lessons with author.
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Nahawa Doumbia n.d. Black Power. ABC 1016.
1997 Yankaw. Production MK7 S.A. MK7 9701.
1999 Yaala. Distribution Showbiz, Mali K7 S.A. MK7 9921.
Oumou Sangaré 1991 Moussolou, published by Samassa and World Circuit Music. WCD021.
1993 Ko Sira, published by World Circuit Music. WCD036.
1996 Bi Furu, published by World Circuit Music. WC79470-2.
2000 Concert at CCF with Habib Koïté. Recorded by Suzanne Reier. Field Recording Collection Tapes 8 and 4. Bamako, 12 February.
Samba Diallo n.d. Wassemba. Camara Production, CK7 024.
1998 Hadia. Camara Production, CK7 334.
Satigui Sidibé 2000 Flakan. Distribution Showbiz, Emi Mali K7, Sydoni Productions. ACS 013.
Conrad, David C. 2002 Somono Bala of the Upper Niger, Leiden and Boston: Brill
Couloubaly, Pascale Baba F. 1990 Une Société Rurale Bambara à travers des Chants de Femmes, Ifan-Dakar: Université Cheick Anta Diop
Diarra, Boubacar S. 1998a "Review of Djeneba Diakité: Nouvelle Cassette 'Fourou"', Le Mag, February
1998b "Kamélé N'Goni: Origine", Le Mag, March
Dúran, Lucy 1995 "Birds of Wassulu: Freedom of Expression and Expressions of Freedom in the Popular Music of Southern Mali", British Journal of Ethnomusicology 4:101-34
2000 "Women, Music, and the 'Mystique' of Hunters in Mali", in Ingrid Monson (ed.) The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective, pp. 137-185. New York: Routledge
2007 "Ngaraya: Women and musical mastery in Mali", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 70 (3):569-602
Hoffman, Barbara G. 2000 Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation, and Caste in Mande, Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Hymes, Dell. 1989 "Ways of Speaking", in Richard Bauman and Joel Sherzer (eds) Explorations in the Ethnography of Speaking, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed.
Johnson, John William 1986 The Epic of Son-Jara According to Fa-Digi Sisoko: A West African Tradition, Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Kaba, Mamady 1995 Anthologie de Chants Mandingues. Paris: Editions L'Harmattan
1999 "Musique: Le Monde Comme Ambition", in Mali 2000 - Dècembre 1999, Bamako, Mali: L'Essor, pp. 172-177
Maxwell, Heather 1998 "The Xylophone as an Intensifier of Musical Interaction: The Bala in Minyankala, Mali", Master's Thesis, Indiana University
1999 "West Africa: When The Xylophone Speaks", in Turn Up The Volume: A Celebration of African Music, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, pp. 58-67
2002 Destiny's Divas: Wassolu Singing, Music Ideologies, and the Politics of Performance in Bamako, Mali. Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University.
2003 "Divas of the Wassulu Sound: Transformations in the Matrix of Global Opportunity", Consumption, Markets and Culture 6 (1)
Modic, Kate E. 1996 "Song, Performance, and Power: The Bèn Ka Di Women's Association in Bamako, Mali", Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University
Nketia, H.H. Kwabena 1974 The Music of Africa. New York/London: Norton
Sidibé, Brehima 2000 Wassoulou Don Foli Contact and Communication: Du 17 au 27 Septembre Rapport de Mission au Wassoulou, photocopy
Diakité, Boubacar 2002 Interview by author, 13 August. Bloomington, Indiana.
Diallo, Samba 1999-2000 Interviews by author. Field Recording Collection Tapes 16 and 21.
Doumbia, Kon Kan Kon, Aissata 1999-2000 Interviews by author. Field Recording Collection Tape 8.
Maikano and Moussa Mariko 2000 Interview by author, 25 January. Field Recording Collection Tape 14.
Mariko, Moussa Remi 1999-2000 Interviews by author. Field Recording Collection Tape 2a.
Sidibé, Brehima 2000 Interviews by author.
Sidibé, Bintu 1999-2000 Interviews and lessons with author. Field Recording Collection Tapes 2a, 3, and 12.
Sidibé, Bintu with Remi Mariko 1999 Interviews and lessons with author.
Sidibé, Coumba 2000 Interview by author, 10 June.
Coumba Sidibé n.d. Coumba Sidibé. SHA Stereo 02901.
1975-77 Koniko Koumba. Office de Radio et Television du Mali (ORTM), Bamako, Mali. Field Recordings Collection Tape 31.
Nahawa Doumbia n.d. Black Power. ABC 1016.
1997 Yankaw. Production MK7 S.A. MK7 9701.
1999 Yaala. Distribution Showbiz, Mali K7 S.A. MK7 9921.
Oumou Sangaré 1991 Moussolou, published by Samassa and World Circuit Music. WCD021.
1993 Ko Sira, published by World Circuit Music. WCD036.
1996 Bi Furu, published by World Circuit Music. WC79470-2.
2000 Concert at CCF with Habib Koïté. Recorded by Suzanne Reier. Field Recording Collection Tapes 8 and 4. Bamako, 12 February.
Samba Diallo n.d. Wassemba. Camara Production, CK7 024.
1998 Hadia. Camara Production, CK7 334.
Satigui Sidibé 2000 Flakan. Distribution Showbiz, Emi Mali K7, Sydoni Productions. ACS 013.
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Published
2008-11-30
How to Cite
Maxwell, Heather A. 2008. “Of Youth-Harps and Songbirds: The Sweet Music of Wasulu”. African Music : Journal of the International Library of African Music 8 (2):26-55. https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v8i2.1780.
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