Rokia Traoré: the godmother of Malian blues
While it’s true that rock music doesn’t just exist in a bubble within the Western world where the majority of its most prominent artists hail from, it can be said that the ways in which rock music presents itself across the globe will vary from country to country. This is largely due to the disparity in cultures when moving between borders, and rich cultural heritage is something that anyone who wants to cling to a sense of nationalistic pride would understandably want to adhere to.
Being one of the largest countries in Africa, Mali has a variety of different cultures within its borders, and with that comes a vast assortment of different musical styles. There is the Songhai tradition that has seen the rise of acts such as Songhoy Blues and Ali Farka Touré, while Grammy-nominated Wassoulou singer Fatoumata Diawara and the Tuareg Tishoumaren group Tinariwen are also notable names from the Saharan nation alongside pan-Malian duo Amadou and Mariam.
These artists all stick firmly to tradition, but one noticeable pattern that runs through their output is the influence of blues music. It’s possibly due to this similarity with a genre that is also celebrated in the West that all of these acts have gained some prominence outside of their nation, but it’s arguable that there is one particular artist who eclipses all of them the way she melds together blues rock with the traditional elements from her home country,
Rokia Traoré began releasing music in the 1990s and has had a varied output that draws from all of the disparate traditions of Mali’s musical history as well as classic rock. Traoré might be celebrated for her singular interpretation of Malian blues music, but her love for bands such as Dire Straits and Pink Floyd were supposedly what made her pick up the guitar in the first place.
With influence coming from all around her, courtesy of her father, brother and peers, much of her early inspiration came from the artists that those closest to her introduced. “I discovered jazz and blues with my dad, and Malian and other African music, and French chanson,” says Traoré of her introduction to these various forms, and all of this is discernible from her records.
One of her finest moments is 2013 album Beautiful Africa; an album that originated from three separate live shows performed in different London venues and showcased these different sides to her music. After the initial performances, she extended her tour to stop off in various places across the globe where she was joined by esteemed guests Paul McCartney and Damon Albarn among others.
The album, which longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish produced, is both a celebration of Malian and African music in general and tackles themes of fighting oppression and rising up against corrupt institutions, as well as some personal tales of her youth growing up as the daughter of a diplomat.
This political edge is something that can be applied to blues across the globe, but Traoré is one of Mali’s finest examples of an artist that captures the heart and warmth of her nation’s music and its expressive spirit. If there’s one artist that other musicians from the country are likely to be looking up to as its most important figure and matriarch, it’s her.
