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Lobi Traoré
A Man Striving for Peace and Harmony
Paris
09/02/1999 -
To say that Lobi Traoré doesn't like to rock the boat is an understatement. Far from trying to stir up his audiences or incite them to revolt, the Malian star believes in making his audience "feel good". And that means singing about the positive things in life! Lobi's musical cocktail, which is rooted in Bamako tradition, mixes a cool "trad." style with vibrant electric sensation and the moody harmonica-playing of French musician Vincent Bucher. Lobi's music also pays a sincere tribute to the land which spawned authentic African blues (the same blues which would end up becoming the soul of Black America all those years later!)
Lobi, who was born in the same year as Malian independence (1961), grew up in the town of Ségou on the river Niger. The talented young teenager, remembered for his round moon-face and his broad grin, went on to launch his music career at the age of 16, performing traditional Bambara songs with a local folk group. Lobi's father was not too keen on his son pursuing a musical career, however. "My father equated the idea of playing music with wanting to become a 'griot'. " says Lobi, "And that certainly wasn't in our family tradition. ".
Lobi persisted, however, and when he first heard one of his high school teachers playing guitar his mind was made up. The teenage musician set his heart on having a guitar of his own. Lobi's dream came true when he moved to Bamako and began working with Lassana Kouyaté's group. (The famous band-leader would sell Lobi his first guitar on credit, keeping back a portion of his monthly pay-check). And legend has it that Lobi was so enthralled by his first guitar that he even took it to bed with him!
Later in his career Lobi would go on to work with Zani Diabaté's "Djata Band", but he eventually left the group and bravely launched his own solo career. After performing extensively on the local scene, playing at bars and weddings, Lobi began to make a major name for himself in the early 90's. The African star certainly brought the house down when he played in Paris recently delighting the audience with his innovative fusion of guitar and harmonica with traditional African instruments such as the calebasse and the djembé. For those who missed this excellent concert, we bring you an in-depth interview with Lobi Traoré below:
Lobi, if you had to sum up your new album in a few words, how would you describe it?
I'd say it was a gift from heaven. And I'm extremely proud of it! I mean, before I'd even finished recording the new album, people in Bamako seemed to be really into it. Close friends and family were really convinced by my new songs … and that was just the stuff they heard on the demo! I've always put a lot of effort into my albums, right from the start of my career - even my first tracks which came out on cassette. But I feel like I worked harder than ever on "Duga".
And what about the music on your new album?
Well, basically my earlier albums revolved around guitar and percussion. But on my new album I started using two new instruments, the n'goni - that's a traditional string instrument which is up there with the kora in terms of importance. In fact, my grandfather used to play the n'goni, but I'd never thought about using it in my work before. And then there's the harmonica, played by Vincent Bucher. These two new instruments have added a whole new dimension to my work.
I was going to ask you how you came to meet the French harmonica-player Vincent Bucher? I know Vincent has been involved with the same record label which produces your own work...
Well, d'you know what the main motivation in a musician's life is? Pleasing the audience! I met Vincent when I was doing a concert in Paris, he came up on stage with me and we did this 'jam' together on two numbers. His harmonica really fitted in with my sound and the audience really loved it. Vincent enjoyed it too, so I asked my producer if he could arrange for me and Vincent to work together. Vincent ended up coming out to Bamako for a while and then we set off on tour together. We did a concert in Burkina and then we went on to Canada, South Africa and all the rest … We've been playing together for three years now. And so that's how Vincent ended up working on my new album.
You seem to break away from your traditional blues style a bit on your new album, Lobi. I mean, things speed up a bit on "Koroduga" and "Sogow", don't they? In fact, these two tracks have much more of a dance feel to them ...
"Koroduga" and "Sogow" are what I'd call a re-worked version of Bambara blues. It's true that both tracks are more dance-oriented. They have a more up-beat feel to them, I guess. But I don't think they move away from my work as a bluesman. The way I see it, each track corresponds to a different state of mind. "Koroduga" and "Sogow" are still rooted in blues tradition, but they reflect a different aspect of Bambara society, the more up-beat side, if you like. But there's no doubt in my mind, both tracks are pure blues - even if they do sound a little bit different to the other songs on the album.
Your songs cover a wide range of topics, Lobi. You sing about love, peace, gallantry and a whole lot of other things. But your songs are never controversial in any way. You don't believe in rocking the boat, do you?
My ambition is to make music which everyone will love. The way I see it, it's all about harmony. You know, it's like when you have all these different instruments playing together on the same track. You've got the n'goni, the harmonica, the calebasse, the guitar and the vocals all going on at the same time - and you get this total harmony between all the musicians. And that's what gives the track it's strength. Well, it's the same thing with my songs. What I'm trying to do is create the same kind of harmony between me and the audience. And that's why I sing about positive things.
But take rock and reggae, for instance. These styles are both aggressive and angry. Rock and reggae musicians deliberately set out to upset the status quo, they want to shake up society's fixed ideas. Don't you think that comes into the artist's role somewhere?
I believe that everyone's got their own conscience. I mean, there are those in the world who want to do good. And there are those in the world who prefer doing harm. I fall into the first category of people and I think that comes across in my music. I like singing about good things, positive things.
I mean, I don't have anything against rock or reggae singers. In fact, I really like that kind of music. But I have my own way of singing about positive things. I don't like upsetting people. I believe that we musicians have enormous power over our audience. We can get them all worked up into a state of revolt, or we can relax them into a state of calm. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't want my audience to be totally apathetic. I want them to react, but in a cool way. I want to create a feeling of peace and understanding between people. Basically what it comes down to is I prefer to make the audience happy, rather than getting people all angry and upset.
With the number of albums coming out of Bamako right now, the city has become one of the hottest spots on the African music scene. Apparently, Paris has had a bit of helping hand in this …
The music scene in Bamako has always been bubbling over with new talent and new ideas, in spite of all the problems out there. Basically, I think artists from Mali are pretty good at looking after themselves. Even when they're faced with the problem of bootleggers and counterfeit copies of their work, they still manage to survive and go on creating new material. They have to go on developing their style, pushing things further, you know. Because musicians can't allow themselves to sit still and stagnate. If they do, they're finished! And yes, in answer to the second part of your question, France has helped the Bamako music scene a lot ... I'd say about 75%! (Lobi ends our interview with a hearty laugh).
Interview: Soeuf Elbadawi
Translation: Julie Street
20/09/2010 -
04/06/2010 -
