Fatoumata Diawara - Watch new video for 'Sete' feat. Brooklyn Youth Choir - UK tour in Februray
“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 today shared the video for 'Sete' feat. Brooklyn Your Choir, directed by Mattia Amadori.
She explains: "SETE is a call to the world. I want to bring awareness about the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation that is still prevalent in many parts of Africa and, at the same time, give children the space they deserve as they represent our hope for a better future."
WATCH VIDEO FOR 'SETE' feat. BROOKLYN YOUTH CHOIR HERE
’SETE' is taken from Fatoumata's latest critically acclaimed album ‘London Ko’, co-produced by Diawara, Daniel Florestano and Damon Albarn, out now through Wagram Music.
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’ 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.
BUY/STREAM 'LONDON KO' HERE
Fatoumata has been consistently touring throughout the summer and is currently playing shows in Europe till the end of the year. She will return to the UK in February 2024 for a string of shows, including a headline concert at London's Koko. Full dates are below, with tickets available here.
2023
20/11 H/Earthbeat Festival Florence - Italy
21/11 La Riviera, Madrid - Spain
22/11 Cruilla Tardor, Barcelona - Spain
24/11 EMC2 Chamonix - France
25/11 Marché Gare - Lyon - France SOLD OUT
29/11 Saison Culturelle Sarreguemines - France
30/11 Den Atelier Luxembourg - Luxembourg
01/12 Festival WinterFuse Anvers - Belgium 07/12 Festspielhaus St. Pölten - Austria
09/12 Bonlieu Scène Nationale Annecy - France SOLD OUT
11/12 Zagreb Jazz Festival Zagreb - Croatia
14/12 L’Empreinte Brive-Tulle - France SOLD OUT
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
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
03/04 SFJazz San Francisco CA - USA 04/04 SFJazz San Francisco 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
20/05 Zoom Frankfurt - DE 23/06 Volkshaus Basel - Switzerland
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
