Fatoumata Diawara - UK tour starts this week
INCLUDING HEADLINE SHOW AT LONDON'S KOKO ON 7th FEBRUARY
NEW ALBUM ‘LONDON KO’ OUT NOW
ALBUM CO-PRODUCED BY DAMON ALBARN
“Dazzling…. exuberance rules” ★★★★ The Observer
“A sophisticated album, but a welcoming one that is easy to lose yourself in” ★★★★ The Times
“London Ko’ thrillingly pioneers its 21st century sound” 9/10 Uncut
“Mali’s brightest star pushes forward” ★★★★ MOJO
"A joyous triumph, cementing Diawara as one of the most significant Afrofuturist musicians" ★★★★ Far Out Magazine
“Elements of Afrobeat, jazz, pop, funk and hip hop all conspire to create a fine blend of traditional Wassoulou rhythms, griotic vocals and contemporary sounds with a spicy and colourful dish of mellow and relaxed grooves” ★★★★ The Arts Desk
Fatoumata Diawara has been consistently touring throughout 2023, following the release of her latest critically acclaimed album ‘London Ko’, co-produced by Diawara, Daniel Florestano and Damon Albarn. She returns to the UK this week for several shows, including a headline concert at London's Koko. Full dates are below, with tickets available here.
2024
02/02 New Century Hall – Manchester - UK
03/02 Celtic Connections Glasgow - UK
06/02 Bristol Beacon – Bristol - UK
07/02 KOKO London - UK
09/02 L’Intervalle Vaugneray - France
09/03 Hibernarock - Aurillac - France
10/03 La Metronum - Toulouse - France
14/03 Quai M La Roche Sur Yon - France
15/03 Espace Malraux Joué-lès-Tours - France
16/03 Scène nationale Carré-Colonnes Saint-Médard en Jalles - France
24/03 Big Ears Festival Knoxville TN - USA
26/03 Sony Hall New York, NY - USA
28/03 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA - USA
29/03 Crystal Ballroom - Sommerville, MA - USA
30/03 Théâtre Beanfield - Montréal - Canada
04/04 SFJazz San Francisco CA - USA 04/04 SFJazz San Francisco CA - USA
05/04 Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA - USA
06/04 Revolution Hall - Potraland, OR - USA
07/04 Campbell Hall - Santa Barbara, CA - USA
12/04 Campbell Hall University Of California Santa Barbara CA - USA
22/05 l’Olympia Paris - France 30/05 Africa Festival Wurzburg - Germany
30/05 Africa Festival - Würzburg - Germany
08/06 Best Kept Secret 2024 - Hilvarenbeek - Netherlands
20/06 Zoom - Frankfurt - Germany
22/06 Dachauer Musiksommer - Dachau - Germany
23/06 Volkshaus Basel - Switzerland
30/06 - Couleur Café Festival - Bruxelles - Belgium
02/07 - Pause Guitare 2024 - Albi - France
03/07 - Cognac Blues Passions 2024 - Cognac - France
13/07 - La Murmure Du Son - Eu - France
04/08 - Festival du Bout du Monde 2024 - Crozon - France
Fatoumata's latest ‘London Ko’ was co-produced by Diawara, Daniel Florestano and Damon Albarn and features a host of guest musicians, including Damon Albarn, Angie Stone, Roberto Fonseca, M.anifest, Yemi Alade and -M-. Still rewriting the rules, Fatoumata plunges us back into her eclectic, avant-garde universe. With the different styles and approaches she brings to her music (afrobeat, jazz, pop, electro and even hip hop), ‘London Ko’ is an album that’s impossible to categorise
Fatoumata continues to reinvent traditional African music on ‘London Ko’, having taken us back to her Mandinka roots in recent projects such as Maliba and Le Vol du Boli with Abderrahmane Sissako. ‘London Ko’ .
BUY/STREAM 'LONDON KO' HERE
Hailed as one of the most vital standard-bearers of modern African music, Fatoumata Diawara's music remains hard to classify: Afropop, Afrofolk, Afrofutursim. Somewhere between tradition and modernity, guitar in hand, she mixes wassoulou rhythms and West African vocal techniques with contemporary sounds.
Her Grammy-nominated second album ‘Fenfo’ was released in 2018 to universal critical acclaim. Diawara has previously worked and toured with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including Bobby Womack, Herbie Hancock, Damon Albarn, Sir Paul McCartney, David Crosby, Amadou and Mariam and many others. She continues to pursue a successful career as an actress, including an acclaimed appearance in 2014´s Timbuktu (Le chagrin des oiseaux), which received both BAFTA and Academy Award nominations. Fatoumata, who won ‘Best Female Artist’ at 2020's African Talent Awards, has also co-starred in Damon Albarn and Abderrahmane Sissako’s theatre project ‘Le Vol du Boli’. Last year, Fatoumata released ‘Maliba’ a collaboration with the Google Arts & Culture platform. The seven new songs formed the soundtrack to a special online presentation of the legendary Timbuktu Manuscripts, which celebrated centuries of Malian culture.
WATCH 'NSERA' VIDEO FEAT. DAMON ALBARN HERE
WATCH 'MASSA DEN' FEAT. -M- VIDEO HERE
WATCH VIDEO FOR 'SETE' feat. BROOKLYN YOUTH CHOIR HERE
