Oumou, I simply have to start by asking you what you've been up to the past few years?
Oumou Sangare: "I've spent the past few years occupying myself with various other projects; I've opened a hotel in Bamako (the Wassulu hotel, red.) and I started a car venture. I really wanted to reinvest part of what I'd earned in the previous fifteen years of my career in my country, thus creating jobs and helping my fellow countrymen. Now that these projects are running their course, I can finally focus on my music again."
Do you consider music just to be one of the many facets of your life or does it hold a more special place?
Oumou Sangare: "Music is my life! All the other things I occupy myself with I undertake with the same commitment, but I was born to make music. I was raised in a musical family, so you could even call it a genetic if you want. Music has always been my primary occupation, but after fifteen years of uninterrupted touring, I was really exhausted and needed a break. There's a saying in Bambara that roughly translated goes: "To be able to jump even further, it's sometimes necessary to take a few steps back.""
You just mentioned some of the various companies you've started - there's the hotel and you've also acquired a farm - but perhaps most surprising is that there's now a car with your name on the African market!
Oumou Sangare: "(laughs) Right, the Oum Sang! I had only recently re-established contact with my father (Oumou's father abandoned her and her then pregnant mother when Oumou was only two years old. Oumou finally reconciled with her father in 2002, red.) and when he suddenly passed away, I was deeply struck with grief. I decided to leave for Paris, where I more or less locked myself in my apartment for about two months. The only thing I did to occupy myself was reading and that's how one day I stumbled on a newspaper article that talked about the ridiculously low prices Chinese cars were being sold at. When I read that, I immediately saw a business opportunity. You have to know that West-Africa is still flooded with second-hand cars from Europe; cars that are often very polluting and, because of their age, also very unsafe. The only reason they're still so popular is because they are cheap enough to be affordable for the average Malian. Now what makes these Chinese cars so interesting is the fact that their price equals that of these second hand cars and in some cases is even lower! Eventually I travelled to China accompanied by my lawyer and we struck a deal."
Nonetheless, there's a lot of prejudice against these cars in Europe. They're not that highly rated.
Oumou Sangare: "That's a real shame and I don't think it's justified either. In Africa, there are barely any decent roads, but ever since we've started importing these cars a few years back, they've been facing the roughest terrain without any problems. The cars are actually produced by American concession holders who migrated to China to cut down on production costs and most of the engines they use are Japanese. I can assure you they've been selling like hotcakes in Mali. They're so popular that I don't even have to promote them anymore. Ok, admittedly, in the beginning I was a bit apprehensive myself as well, but from first hand experience I can now assure you these cars are well worth their money!"
You're from the region of Wassulu. Can you tell us a bit more about that part of Mali?
Oumou Sangare: "Wassulu is a region in the south of Mali. It's right next to Ivory Coast and Guinee Conakry and is considered to be Mali's green heart."
It's also the region of the donso, the traditional hunters you dedicated the track ‘Donso' on your new album to. They also appeared on the sleeve of Tiken Jah Fakoly's last album 'L'Africain'. In Europe, hunting is often merely a hobby.
Oumou Sangare: "In our society, things are a bit different I'm afraid. Before the colonial period, being a hunter also entailed being a warrior and a soldier. In those days their prime duty was guarding the clan's territory. They also possess an impressive knowledge of local plant life and potions.... You can't become a donso just like that; it's like a cult with its own rite of passage."
The Malian griot tradition means that music is passed down from father to son or from mother to daughter. Are their significant differences in repertoire if you compare male and female griots?
Oumou Sangare: "There are certain differences, yes, but isn't that the case in the rest of the world as well? When a woman performs, this enables her to defend her femininity. A man can sing the repertoire of a female griot and vice versa, there's no law against that, but it's still a rare occurrence. The real difference lies in the difference between traditional griot music and popular music. A griot can also sing pop tunes if they choose to, but a popular musician like myself can never perform one of the traditional paeans."
A subject that often returns in your songs, as it does on this album, is that of forced marriage. Is that problem still as huge as it once was?
Oumou Sangare: "No, the numbers have definitely decreased in the past years, but as long as it subsists, my struggle will continue. These days most Malian girls attend school, so they're also more aware of their rights and that has helped significantly in decreasing the size of the problem, but because my music is played and listened to all over West-Africa, I saw it as my duty to address this problem in my songs. For me, it was simply the least I could do for the women who were really victimized by these outdated habits."
You often talk about your femininity and in African terms you're considered to be a modern liberated woman. What is your take on the western concept of "feminism" then? Can I call you a feminist?
Oumou Sangare: "The word "feminist" carries too much politics with it; I've always seen myself as a socially conscious artiste. Feminism has been politicized and I'm a musician, not a politician. In my songs I defend causes that I believe in, but first and foremost I want to entertain the people with my music. My words are my weapon, because I shun all forms of violence."
In general, your songs all have subjects that can be labelled as being African. You've been touring the world for years now, are you never influenced by what you see and experience on these travels?
Oumou Sangare: "Africa just has a lot to tell! Musically speaking, I love to cross the borders; for ‘Seya' I've worked with Will Calhoun (legendary drummer of the now defunct Living Colour and for artists like B. B. King, Mick Jagger, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, The Allman Brothers, Lauryn Hill, Run-DMC and Public Enemy, red.), a truly inspired American drummer who was staying in Bamako for a while, but lyrically I'm still more than satisfied with what Africa has to offer me."
When composing your songs, you always work with 'Benego' Diakite, whom you've often referred to as "the best kamelngoni player in the world". That instrument isn't that well-known yet in the west. What makes it so special that you return to it every time?
Oumou Sangare: "The sound of the kamelngoni is the soundtrack of Wassulu; it's the rhythm of the south of Mali, a rhythm that shouts home. The kamelngoni is an adaptation of the classic ngoni, an instrument used by the donso, the traditional hunters we just talked about. For them, the ngoni is a sacred instrument they use to accompany their rituals, but for me, it's mostly a reminder of home"
Would you agree if I compare its function with that of the guitar in western music?
Oumou Sangare: "Absolutely, the ngoni is our variant of the guitar."
I would now like to confront you with the names of a number of people that have played an important role in your career. You can just explain what they mean or have meant to you. The first one: Coumba Sidibe?
Oumou Sangare: "Coumba Sidibe is one of my idols. By listening to her, I've really started to appreciate and love music. My mother also was a singer, but she was never what you would call a star. When I saw Coumba perform for the first time, I knew what it meant to be a star. She has really been one of my greatest influences. My first time on stage - I must have been about five years old at the time - I only performed her repertoire and tried to imitate her style."
Ahmadou Ba Guindo?
Oumou Sangare: "Ahmadou Ba Guindo was the Massambou Diallo or Cheich Tidiane Seck (multi-instrumentalist, composer and musical director, but mainly known as a keyboard player. In the course of his career he worked with artists like Jimmy Cliff, Fela Kuti, Joe Zawinul, Carlos Santana and Hank Jones, red.) of his time. He was a tremendous aid in composing my songs. We did the ‘Moussoulou' album together, the album that eventually got me known on an international level as well. His death really affected me deeply, even to the degree that at one point I even considered quitting the music business altogether."
As a last one then: Ali Farka Toure, a man who steered your career towards Europe, I believe?
Oumou Sangare: "Yes, that's correct. He was one of my greatest fans and he really loved my voice. When he listened to my music he often got goose bumps or tears in his eyes and whenever he travelled somewhere, he made sure always to carry some tapes with my music with him. It was during a trip to London, when he was playing one of these tapes, that Nick (Gold, well-known producer for the World Circuit label, red.) heard my music, got intrigued and the rest is history as they say!"
You called your latest album, 'Seya', meaning "joy" or "happiness" in English, and it's become quite an upbeat album. Was that your state of mind when you recorded it or more of a feeling you wanted to share with your audience?
Oumou Sangare: "A bit of both really. I recorded the album at a stage of my life where I felt happy to be able to dedicate myself fully to my music again and I wanted to share that joy with my fans. When I decided to return to music, I really contemplated what I still had to offer my fans. The answer I came up with was joy!"
Being fortunate enough to see a number of your dreams become reality already, one thing that's still on your wish list is to star in a movie one day. Are you any more near in making that dream a reality?
Oumou Sangare: "Not really, no. My music was used for the soundtrack of "Beloved", a movie by Oprah Winfrey (American actor, producer, television host. Oprah is very influential in the United States and was one of the first black female billionaires, red.), but because the medium of film is even more powerful than that of music, I would love nothing more than to be allowed to play a role myself, thus being able to show the strength and beauty of the African woman."
In conclusion, could you describe yourself in just a few words?
Oumou Sangare: "Oumou Sangare is a Malian singer. She's an African woman who suffered much hardship when she was younger and who witnessed a lot of sufferance as well, inspiring her to take action and speak out against injustice. Oumou Sangare fights to see women, wherever they might find themselves, being treated as the queens they are!"