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RECORDS: NA
Language: | Bambara |
| Genre: | Modern manding Traditional manding |
| Instrument: | Female vocals |
Ramata Diakite hails form the Wassoulou region of southern Mali and belongs to the younger guard of musicians. No one in his immediate family has been a singer, and it was not for a moment thought that any would become one. But when Ramata was twelve years old she often went around humming to herself in secret. An aunt, Djeneba Diakite,asked her if she would sing in the choir on her first cassette, and that was the beginning of Ramata's musical career. The family was not exactly overjoyed. Ramata Diakite's singing talent was soon discovered in the choir group and she was given concert experience on tours in France and Africa. She was often asked to sing for other artists. In December 1995 she recorded her own cassette, which was a best seller in Mali in 1996. Ramata Diakite began to give her own concerts and performed with Salif Keita in Paris in 1997.
Relevant artists: Oumou Sangare Abdoulaye Diabate Rokia Traoré Tama
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Last Modified:
22 nov 2009
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Surely many female singers have been coming out of Mali, but Ramata Diakite belongs among the more exiting. She is not from a Griot family, something
that makes her singing different from many of her peers. She writes her own songs and is more laid back than many who sing in the traditional nasal and shouting mode. "Na" is a thorough album, well-arranged and liberatingly unaffected, with emphasis on ngoni and guitar, bass and percussion (no synthesizer). It sounds modern but organic, and bumps charmingly along in the staccato rhythm common in Wassoulou music. Ramata Diakite can remind you of both Abdoulaye Diabate and Oumou Sangare, who come from the same region, but Diakite definitely has her own expression.
In the song "Dibi" she swings away freshly in a relaxed rhythm that makes you think of a young Ry Cooder. It’s laid back and pleasing, and really swings. The lyrics that accompany the album, are also above average. I like this!
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