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// Boubacar Traoré 
Listen to Boubacar Traoré's albums
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Mali Denhou
Boubacar Traoré wrote Mali’s post independence anthem in 1963 and then dropped into obscurity for decades. Now a revered elder statesman of Malian music, his new album is out next month.
Mali’s Boubacar Traoré is a musician with a singular story. He was a star in the 1960s, dropped into obscurity for twenty years and then returned to the limelight. For fifty years, this soulful artist has composed songs in a unique style marked by historical events such as the independence of Mali, and his own life story, songs with a serene and melancholy air. When Traoré talks about Mali Denhou, his eighth album, he highlights the importance of peace - to be at peace with yourself, with history, the ancestors, the entire country. His age? The question makes him chuckle like a young man: “Ah no”, he says, “that’s a secret!” Kar-Kar, as he’s known, can be both serious and playful - he has a twinkle in his eye when he talks about his ‘oldies’ - the great hits ‘Kar-Kar Madison’ and ‘Mali Twist’ – and when he exclaims “Mali Denhou was recorded in just one day in the studio!” Some of the tracks have been playing in his mind since the 1960s, and others, such as ‘Dundobesse M’Bedouniato’, are new. “In that song I say I’ve had my time in this world, that’s it! One day, I will have to go. One day a man is having a glorious time, and the next, he is gone, he becomes nothing.” The words are inspired by his life, one marked by great success as well as disappointments.
Boubacar Traoré was born in Kayes, in Western Mali, to a noble family. As a youth he was an exceptional football player with the promise of a great sporting career ahead. Then an injury put an end to those dreams in the late 1950s. Goodbye football: all he kept was his nick-name “Kar-Kar” (the dribbler). He learnt guitar with his brother and developed his own style. “I play guitar as though it were a kora”, he explains. “My playing is inspired by the Manding style, I play ‘double scale’.” His 1963 song ‘Mali Twist’ was broadcast several times a day on national radio, becoming a post-independence anthem and a huge hit with the young generation. It was this song which made him a star in the 60s. But his fame earned him nothing so he started working as a tailor. Everyone in Mali thought he was dead. Apart from a surprise television appearance in 1987 he remained in obscurity, and when his beloved wife Pierrette passed away he left for France for a number of years. Later he returned to Kayes where he ran a little store. In 1989 he was tracked down by some journalists from Radio Mali, recorded his first cassette and went to perform in the UK and France. In Mali he was welcomed back to the music scene with open arms, releasing several albums and becoming a crucial figure in Malian music. He was also a reminder of the lowly status sometimes conferred on musicians in Africa. So Mali Denhou is also a message: “It should be recognised that I did a lot for my country in the 1960s,” concludes Kar Kar. “The leaders should protect musicians and their art! It’s thanks to them that the name of Mali has crossed all the rivers in the world!”
Mali Denhou – Boubacar Traoré is out February 2011 on Lusafrica
Boubacar Traoré’s back catalogue albums Je Chanterai Pour Toi and Kongo Magni have also been reissued by Lusafrica
Je Chanterai Pour Toi - trailer
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// ALSO
- Djitoumou
- Toumani Diabaté
- Art Melody's futuristic African hip hop
- Joe Bataan & James Pants live at Cargo 11 June plus dates in Leeds and Birmingham
- Quantic and his Combo Barbaro album launch tour starts Friday 5 June at the ICA
- Oliver Mtukudzi, Oliver Mtukudzi - African Soul Rebel
- Oumou Sangare, Oumou Sangare // The Malian songbird returns
- Khaled, Liberté
// ALL BOUBACAR TRAORé'S REVIEWS
Mali Denhou
04/02/2011
Marabi Africa
31/01/2007
// DISCOGRAPHY
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Mali Fenhou (Album)
Kongo Magni (Album)
Macire (Album)
Kar Kar (Album)
Marabi Africa (compilation) (Album)
Sa Golo (Album)// LINKS
RELATED ARTISTS
>> Rokia Traoré
>> Lobi Traoré
>> Youssou N'Dour
>> Malouma
>> Ba Cissoko
REPORTS
>> Music from the Sahara
// CONTACT
Marabi (Label)
Tel : 33(0)5 45 37 30 22 Fax : 33(0)5 45 37 49 71
9 rue du point du jour Angoulême FRA 16000
Send an email
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