Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Rokia Traoré

Frank Bessem's
Musiques d'Afrique:

Rokia Traoré
(Mali)

Musiques d'Afrique
Musiques du Mali

Rokia Traoré is a young singer full of talent. In 1990, her parents gave her a guitar as birthday gift, she learnt to play herself without any help of a music teacher, and at the end of 1997, she was recording her first album in a French studio. By then, she had already received the "prix découverte RFI" and performed successfully on the Musiques métisses festival in Angoulême, France.
This first album, Mouneïssa sold 30,000 times, which is remarkable for an album so much rooted in traditional phrases. But don't be mistaken, she composes the songs herself, her approach is full of innovation (a unique combination of the balaba from the Bélédougou region with the ngoni lute of the Bambara), the lyrics are on modern time issues.
The second album Wanita is even better!

Musicians on Mouneïssa: Rokia Traoré (vocals); Andra Kouyaté (ngoni), Baba Sissoko (ngoni, small percussion), Oumar Diallo (bass), Abdoul Wahab Berthé (bass), Samba Diarra (balafon), Dimba Camara (percussion), and Souleymane Ann (percussion).

Born: 1974, in Bamako, Mali.
Style: traditional malinke and bambara songs.

Discography:

Title	Year	Label	Remarks
Tchamantché	2008	Universal Jazz France
Bowmboï	2003	Indigo LBLC 2594	European CD release
Bowboï	2003	Tama Productions/ Mali K7 SA (no reference)	African release
Wanita	2000	Indigo LBLC 2574
Mouneïssa	1998	Indigo LBLC 2524