Amadou & Mariam

小簡介
Amadou & Mariam是一對盲人夫妻，來自非洲馬利共和國，自1980年開始，便已經(jīng)是在非洲相當受歡迎的團體，1999年，他們兩夫妻又以專輯“Sou Ni Tile”打進法國市場、參加大小音樂節(jié)，進而揭開世界的知名度；2005年，有現(xiàn)代Bob Marley之美名的才子Manu Chao為他們製作的“Dimanche à Bamako”在2006年英國BBC世界音樂獎奪下「年度最佳專輯獎」、「非洲類最佳專輯獎」兩項獎項；另外，Amadou & Mariam兩人更受天王級德國男歌手Herbert Gr?nemeyer之邀，共同合唱2006年世界盃足球賽的全球官方指定曲「Celebrate The Day」，在如此推波助瀾之下，讓世上更多人聽到他們的聲音。
接著要講到一位叫Damon Albarn的這位怪才了，總是令人抓不著他的音樂之路下一步會怎么走的Blur主唱Damon，先是組了嘻哈化的Gorillaz、再來又是夢幻策劃的The Good, The Bad and The Queen、然后又是跟中國導演陳士錚改編的西游記舞臺劇合作、創(chuàng)作配樂，相互迴異的種種音樂策劃，顛覆了大家對他的看法，但無一不對他經(jīng)手的音樂企畫表示讚許，而怪才Damon依舊特立獨行，在這張Amadou & Mariam的““Welcome To Mali”主打歌「Sabali」中擔任製作人、并且參與合唱以及彈奏貝斯/鍵盤，不過看Damon曾在2002年發(fā)行一張“Mali Music”的過去紀錄，可見Damon的確是對世界音樂有那么兩把刷子，這首歌也很特別，開頭製造出古老留聲機的聲響，Mariam哼唱著，中段用以電子節(jié)拍綴飾，相當動聽。
A musical husband and wife duo that got its start in Mali, Amadou & Mariam met in 1975 at Mali's Bamako Institute for the Young Blind. Amadou (born Amadou Bagayoko in Bamako in October of 1954) began his musical career in 1968, and by 1974 joined Les Ambassadeurs du Motel, a leading group (which counted Salif Keita as a member) in his home country. He wound up at the aforementioned institute after becoming blind as a teenager through a congenital cataract. His future wife, Mariam Doumbia (born in Bamako on April 15, 1958), was already at the institute (she became blind at the age of five), studying Braille as well as teaching classes in dance and music. Over time, the pair would have a huge influence on the artistic programs at the school, with Amadou directing a group of pupils, and Mariam handling lead vocal duties for the school orchestra. In 1980, the pair married and decided that they would make a good collaborative musical team. Over the next five years, the duo performed in their home country, and Amadou's solo career and work won him many accolades and awards. In 1985, the group toured out of country for the first time, with shows in Burkina Faso. In 1986, Amadou & Mariam, realizing that Mali and its distinct lack of recording would be a major hindrance in their career, opted to move themselves to the neighboring Ivory Coast. There they began to release a series of cassettes (with help from the Nigerian producer Maikano) that would become the foundation of their later successes. By 1991, the pair had released four volumes of their work on cassette, and the buzz was enough that in 1994 they were invited to Paris to perform and record new work there. Although the resulting sessions were never released, Amadou & Mariam kept on, and in 1998 they released their first CD album, Sou Ni Tile. From 1998 to 2002, a series of releases shedding light on their early work (both together and solo) preceded their next album, Wati. In 2003, world music luminary Manu Chao began to work with the couple, and in 2004 Amadou & Mariam emerged from the studio with what was to be their landmark album, Dimance a Bamako. The success of the album led to tours, awards, and accolades from all over Europe and Africa. In 2005, they released a live album and DVD, and in 2007 got involved with Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz fame) and his Africa Express project, which played the famous Glastonbury Festival. In addition, that same year Amadou & Mariam performed at Bastille Day celebrations, as well as opening up for the American rock act Scissor Sisters in England.