Habib Koite
Biography
Malian guitarist Habib Koité is one of Africa’s most
popular and recognized musicians. Habib Koité was born in 1958 inThiès, a
Senegalese town situated on the railway line connecting Dakar to Niger, where
his father worked on the construction of the tracks. Six months after his
birth, the Koité family returned to the regional capital of west Mali,
Kayes,and then to Bamako.
Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonké griots, traditional
troubadors who provide wit, wisdomand musical entertainment at social
gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers
and
sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his
griot mother. He inherited his passion for music from his paternal grandfather
who played the kamele n’goni, a traditional four-stringed instrument
associated with hunters from the
Wassolou region of Mali. "Nobody really taught me to sing or
to play the guitar," explains Habib, "I watched my parents, andit
washed off on me."
Habib was headed for a career as an engineer, but on the
insistence of his uncle, who recognized Habib's musical talent, heenrolled at
the National Institute of Arts (INA) in Bamako, Mali. In 1978, after only six
months, he was made conductor of
INA Star, the school's prestigious band. He studied music for
four years, graduating at the top of his class in 1982. (In facthis talent was
so impressive, that upon graduation, the INA hired him as a guitar teacher).
During his studies, Habib had theopportunity to perform and play
with a series of recognized Malian artists, including Kélétigui Diabaté and
Toumani
Diabaté. He sang
and played on Toumani Diabaté's 1991 release Shake the World (Sony), and
Kélétigui Diabaté is now a fulltimemember of Habib’s band.
Habib takes some unique approaches to playing the guitar. He
tunes his instrument to the pentatonic scale and plays on open strings as one
would on a kamale n'goni. At other times Habib plays music that sounds closer
to the blues or flamenco, two styles he studied under Khalilou Traoré a
veteran of the legendary Afro-Cuban band Maravillas du Mali.
Unlike the griots, his singing style is restrained and intimate
with varying cadenced rhythms and melodies.
Mali has rich and diverse musical traditions, which have many
regional variations and styles that are particular to the local cultures. Habib
is unique because he brings together different styles, creating a new
pan-Malian approach that reflects his
open-minded interest in all types of music. The predominant style
played by Habib is based on the danssa, a popular rhythm from his native
city of Keyes. He calls his version danssa doso, a Bambara term he
coined that combines the name of
the popular rhythm with the word for hunter’s music (doso),
one of Mali’s most powerful and ancient musical traditions. “I put these two
words together to symbolize the music of all ethnic groups in Mali. I’m curious
about all the music in the
world, but I make music from Mali. In my country, we have so many
beautiful rhythms and melodies. Many villages and communities have their own
kind of music. Usually, Malian musicians play only their own ethnic music, but
me, I go everywhere. My job is to take all these traditions and to make
something with them, to use them in my music.”
In 1988, Habib formed his own group, Bamada (a nickname
for residents of Bamako that roughly translates "in the mouth of the
crocodile"), with young Malian musicians who had been friends since
childhood.
In 1991, Habib won first prize at the Voxpole Festival in
Perpignan, France, which earned him enough money to finance the production of
two songs. One of
those tracks, “Cigarette A Bana (The Cigarette is Finished)” was
a hit throughout West Africa. After the release of another successful single
entitled, "Nanalé (The Swallow),” Habib received the prestigious Radio
France International (RFI)
Discoveries prize. This award made it possible for the group to
undertake their first tour outside of Africa during the summer of 1994.
In January 1995, Habib met his current manager, Belgian Michel
De Bock, who, along with his partner Geneviève Bruyndonckx, are the
directors of the management and production company Contre-Jour. Working
together, they recorded his first album Muso Ko. Upon its
release the album quickly reached #2 in the European World Music Charts. From that
point forward, Habib became a fixture on the European festival circuit and
began to spread his infectious music and
high energy shows around the world. Habib has played at most of
Europe’s major venues and festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival,
WOMAD, and the World Roots Festival. In the spring 2000, he even toured Europe
and Turkey as an
invited guest with the legendary avant-garde jazz group, the Art
Ensemble of Chicago.
Habib’s second album, Ma
Ya, was released in Europe in 1998 to
widespread acclaim. It spent an amazing three months at the top spot on the
World Charts Europe. A subtle production which revealed a more acoustic,
introspective side of Habib’s music, Ma Ya was released in North America
by Putumayo World Music in early 1999 and quickly helped establish Habib as one
of world music’s most exciting new figures.
Ma Ya spent 20
weeks in the top 20 of the College Music Journal New World music chart,
and broke new ground at AAA rock radio, spending several months in regular
rotation on commercial stations across the country. The album held the number
one spot on the World Charts Europe for an amazing three months. Ma
Ya has sold over 60,000 units in North America and over 100,000 worldwide,
which is a tremendous success for a new world music artist.
The critical and commercial response to Ma Ya was
tremendous. Habib was featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines
including People Magazine, Rolling Stone, Le Monde, Songlines,
De Standaard, Le Soir and the cover of Global
Rhythm magazine,
to name a few. In the years since, he has also been featured in the US on
National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, WXPN’s World Café,
PRI’s The World, the House of Blues Radio Hour “Mali to Memphis”
special, prestigious
international programs such as CNN WorldBeat, and in June
2007 was the subject of a two-page photo spread in Vanity Fair magazine.
In 2001, Habib Koité and Bamada became one the few African artists to appear on
Late Night with David
Letterman one
of America’s most popular television variety shows,
Habib’s artistry and powerful personality earned him the
adoration of fans such as Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, both of
whom ended up visiting Habib in Mali. They have both done a great deal to
support Habib’s music, by promoting private
events designed to attract new audiences and even performing live
with Habib on stage. Habib and his band even made a guest appearance on Bonnie
Raitt’s 2002 album Silver Lining, in which Bonnie and Habib performed a
duet on the co-written
song “Back Around.”
Habib Koite & Bamada released their third album, Baro, in 2001 on Putumayo. The recording was also a huge success, selling
more than 100,000 copies worldwide and further expanding Habib’s global
audience.
One of the keys to Habib’s success has been is dedication to
touring. A true road warrior, Habib Koite & Bamada have performed nearly
1000 shows since 1994 and appeared on some of the world’s most prestigious
concert stages. Habib has
also participated in a number of memorable theme tours alongside
other artists. In February 1999, Habib and American bluesman Eric Bibb toured
in support of the Putumayo compilation Mali to Memphis, which
highlighted the connections
between Malian and American blues music. In the fall of 2000,
Habib participated in the “Voices of Mali” tour with Oumou Sangare, one
of West Africa’s most renowned artists. Habib has also taken part in the Desert
Blues project with fellow
Malians Tartit and Afel Boucoum and the Putumayo
Presents Acoustic Africa tour with South African troubadour Vusi Mahlasela
and the rising young star Dobet Gnahoré from the Ivory Coast.
Habib Koite & Bamada’s transfixing performances have endeared
them to an ever-growing audience, and in 2003 they released Fôly! , a
double CD of live material.
Devoted fans have waited a long time for Habib to return to the
recording studio.
As with many craftsmen, Habib is a perfectionist, and spends a
great deal of time composing and arranging his material. Recorded in Mali,
Belgium and
Vermont Usa, Afriki finds Habib exploring new musical
directions. The overarching theme of Afriki (released in 2007) , which
means “Africa” in the Malian Bambara language, is about the strengths and
challenges of the African continent. “People here in Africa are willing to risk
death trying to leave for Europe or the USA, but they are not willing to take
that risk staying to develop something here in Africa,” says Habib. “Life can
be really good or really bad wherever you live. People need to understand that.
Even though Mali is poor, we still have good quality of life: You can walk
outside and smile and someone will smile back. I have thought about it a lot,
and I am not sure if poor countries have a worse quality of life.”
In 2007
the band was on the road to present their new album « Afriki » but
also for a spécial project : the multi media show « Desert
Blues » with Tartit and Afel Bocoum for the opening of the Museum of Quai
Branly in Paris
For
2008, new adventures for Habib and the Bamada ; a mandinguo opera created
in collaboration Mondomiw and with 2.500 enfants in the South fo France who
learned some songs written by Habib and presented in nice venues like the Palace of the
Festival in Cannes. After the big success, they made it again the year after in
2009.
They
also made a exciting tour of 2 months in West Africa in collaboration with the
French Cultural Center.
And
Habib was presented in several events for concerts in solo (Taipei World Music
Festival, Litterature festival in Aspen – USA..). Some experience we could see
again in the future further the pleasure Habib found in those solo performances.
Last
Summer 2009, Habib was present in the Acoustic Africa project in South Africa ,
Namibia & Swaziland.. to present this project in the native land of Vusi
Mahalasela. Incredible moments of this Summer!
2010 :
After tours in Europe, Abu Dhabi & USA, they are preparing the new project
of Acoustic Africa who will be presented in Europe and Usa with Oliver Mtukudzi
and Afel Bocoum around Habib. The tours
are planned for Fall 2010 – Spring 2011.
Contre-Jour Belgium
Management
agency
41 voye
d’en haut
5680
Vodelée – Belgium
Tel + 32
82 66 74 70
genevieve@contrejour.com
No comments:
Post a Comment