Blueprints for a new architecture of songs
Rokia Traoré is a modern woman who re-weaves traditional Malian music
PREVIEW
ROKIA TRAORE
Calgary Folk Music Festival
July 27 & 28
Prince’s Island Park
From dirt paths in Mali to plane rides over Belgium and meandering drives through France, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, the miles and the music have somehow tumbled together, then arisen gracefully.
Blame it, perhaps, on Rokia Traoré's diplomat father, whose job led the Malian singer to live in several countries during her childhood. Just as he was able to mine the commonalties across cultures, so he gave that gift to his daughter, who has used musical elements from around the world to create a fresh collage of sounds.
This musical cross-pollination began early in Traoré's life, as her brothers’ extensive LP collection meant she was just as likely to hear American artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Tina Turner as the local musicians in each town and country she was in. After completing two years of university in pursuit of a social sciences degree, Traoré was discovered by the director of the French Cultural Centre in her native town of Bamako and released her first CD, Mouneissa, in 1998. Then, on 2000’s Wanita, Traoré broke barriers both musically and culturally by bringing together instruments and cultures that don’t usually mix. She also raised eyebrows in Mali by writing her own lyrics and arrangements, something women have not traditionally done.
These feats were difficult, as Traoré explains with help from a translator. Before she could even bring Western sounds into the mix, she struggled to create her vision of Malian music.
"There are two levels of encounter (on Wanita). The first one is Mali-Mali encounter, in which you have the unusual orchestration with instruments that usually don’t play together. There was some work to find a way to get the n’goni players discovering the balafon of (another) region. But in human terms, people would discover new sounds and new possibilities. This took time and finally it got to the colours I was looking for.
Wanita is a remarkable album. Time seems suspended as one listens to Traoré’s voice flowing with the naturalness and unpredictability of water, sometimes slowing to musical droplets that quiver and bead, and at other times cascading with the urgency of a waterfall, beautifully menacing.
It is not surprising that her music is so powerful when one considers her childhood and the travels of her adult life, which have combined to give her wisdom and perspective. When discussing the recent G8 summit and its focus on Africa, for example, Traoré is frank.
"I would divide Africa into two groups. The very poor cultures like mine that have very small amounts of raw materials or natural resources, and other cultures that have some natural resources. Take the Congo, where at the end of the day, all the natural resources are actually in the hands of foreign powers – the exploration of petrol, the exploration of minerals. You take the case of the naturally rich African countries, then you understand that western support is not really intended to give independent development to the African countries. Moreover, it is, at this point, better to be a poor country in Africa, because otherwise you are suffering because of struggles over the natural resources."
Although she now resides in France, Traoré makes it clear that she lives there only because the person she shares her life with is there. She believes she could have continued her musical career while living in Mali.
During a recent visit to her old home town, Traoré saw children watching the green soccer fields of the World Cup on TV, while they played with a makeshift tissue ball in the streets. She says the children live with dignity even though they have nothing, but the toughest thing for them is seeing images of western children who seem to have everything.
"Child rights are not universal, they are again something that are bought or paid for in wealthier countries," she says.
It is observing dichotomies such as these that sparks Traoré, who will bring six supporting musicians with her to the Folk Festival, to continue to marry the best parts of all cultures in her musical menagerie.
"The real strong inspiration is an issue or a very big emotion in my life that creates an idea. It’s the addition of my daily life and emotional experiences. It talks to me. For it to get to the writing process, it must appeal to me very personally. There would be a melody that would generate a climate in the song, then I put the words in it. After the first row of the music and the lyrics, I have to organize the architecture of the songs – the arrangements, polyphonies, which instruments to bring in and when –with what kind of space. It’s the time when my brain works the most, I think." |
