We were honored to welcome the Malian singer, songwriter, guitarist and acclaimed actress Fatoumata Diawara at M.Bassy for an unplugged concert ad well as intimate talk with Musa Okwonga about connection, receiving and sharing as well as following the path of an African feminists. She is hailed as the voice of young African womanhood – proud of her heritage but with a vision that looks confidently to the future and a message that is universal.
Excerpt from the talk:
Musa Okwonga
Before I ask you a question about the new record, which is obviously wonderful, I want to say firstly that I'm very unprofessional: I had to take my jacket off because I was dancing in the corner because the music is terrific. I love the rhythms, and I was writing down some notes before you spoke. I was thinking your music feels like a film where you don't need subtitles because you can see the picture and you understand there is a lot of emotion and power. It has been a long time since your last record, and you have got something to say. How did you go about forming the idea for this new album?
Fatoumata Diawara:
It's difficult. You can't control everything. I think after the first album »Fatou«, I had a lot of demands from many artists as Herbie Hancock, Damon Alban, Robert Womack even. In this first album I was proving nothing, I was just singing, I was learning how to play guitar at that time. I think, I'm trying to defend my truth. This truth, in music industry today, we need it. We need this truth from women especially, because sometimes when we are on stage, we are not ourselves. You must be in a certain way to deserve love from people. I am trying to go to the opposite: keep being myself and making music. Because I know there are people who can hear this truth. People are waiting. Many people wanted this from women in general in the music industry. All those great artists whom I have been working with, I have been learning a lot towards the "natural school".
I didn't go to school to learn how to play guitar or to sing. I just listened to it, and it told me what to do. I am like an instrument - it comes like this through me to share it. But it is not about me. It comes from somewhere. I just have to tell you what I am receiving now and share it. That is why it is important for me to talk about the truth because there is no thinking. It's like water. It just flows. And this water took me to this second album by meeting all those great artists. (This album) is a very spiritual one, because music is all about connection. Without this connection, I don't know if real music can exist? Because there are so many types of music. But the one that I'm trying to follow is like Miriam Makeba, Angélique Kidjo - those "Mama Africa" women saying "I am African and proud to be!". They take this Africa like a baby. It is a big continent, but they say "I love you, my baby. I will take you around the world, talk about you, defend you as a mom.". I know I'm young for this responsibility, but somebody has to follow those women. They are being themselves!
When you connect with good people, like Herbie Hancock, he doesn't need to listen to you. He would just have to look at you, and he knows that we are on the same feeling, same mentality about music. That connection took me to the second album. That is why it is a little bit different to the first one, but it came naturally.
Musa Okwonga:
It's funny because you talk in one of the songs about challenging the traditions that may hold us back, but one thing I love about your work among many things is that there are some traditions you do follow, and one tradition is being an African feminist. I want to talk about something else that I think is a big feature of your work: your desire for collaboration and you work with Aïda Muluneh. Where did the idea come from?
I didn't go to school to learn how to play guitar or to sing. I just listened to it, and it told me what to do. I am like an instrument - it comes like this through me to share it. But it is not about me. It comes from somewhere. I just have to tell you what I am receiving now and share it. That is why it is important for me to talk about the truth because there is no thinking. It's like water. It just flows.
Fatoumata Diawara:
When we were thinking about what to do for the visuals, my manager asked me what I wanted because, you know, I like colors.
Musa Okwonga:
You like colors, really? I couldn't guess that one! laughs
Fatoumata Diawara:
Especially red! I wanted a woman to make the cover, especially from Africa. My manager went on a website and proposed a couple of women artists. When I saw what Aïda was doing, my mind told me “This one is this one!”. When we contacted her, she was very happy. She said “Oh sister, I'm following you! Oh, thank God, I was waiting for this day, to meet you and work with you!“ And I said “That's it, let’s go!” I was on tour somewhere, I think in the south of France. She came just for two hours, and the connection was direct.
Musa Okwonga:
Wow, you only met her once, you haven't seen her since?
Fatoumata Diawara:
No, but I saw what she was doing. I said, “Okay, she's connected!” It's not the beauty, it’s not what you can see. It's what you cannot see. I've been talking about a spiritual thing. I said, “This is strong! She’s so powerful!“ I thought about how to introduce one more intelligent woman of Africa. For me it is important to know that (for African women) emancipation is coming and they're pushing things forward. I also wanted to give some examples to other girls, to be photographer or video maker. She asked me about my favorite colors, etc. I like bright colors. For the first album it was red and yellow. For this one, I wanted blue, because of water. I wanted the connection, the contrast. I wanted to keep my red but mix it with blue for the sky and water. When I say water, it is to bring back peace. I want peace. We want peace. Peace and love.