Amadou & Mariam

小简介
Amadou & Mariam是一对盲人夫妻，来自非洲马利共和国，自1980年开始，便已经是在非洲相当受欢迎的团体，1999年，他们两夫妻又以专辑“Sou Ni Tile”打进法国市场、参加大小音乐节，进而揭开世界的知名度；2005年，有现代Bob Marley之美名的才子Manu Chao为他们製作的“Dimanche à Bamako”在2006年英国BBC世界音乐奖夺下「年度最佳专辑奖」、「非洲类最佳专辑奖」两项奖项；另外，Amadou & Mariam两人更受天王级德国男歌手Herbert Grönemeyer之邀，共同合唱2006年世界盃足球赛的全球官方指定曲「Celebrate The Day」，在如此推波助澜之下，让世上更多人听到他们的声音。
接著要讲到一位叫Damon Albarn的这位怪才了，总是令人抓不著他的音乐之路下一步会怎么走的Blur主唱Damon，先是组了嘻哈化的Gorillaz、再来又是梦幻策划的The Good, The Bad and The Queen、然后又是跟中国导演陈士錚改编的西游记舞臺剧合作、创作配乐，相互迴异的种种音乐策划，颠覆了大家对他的看法，但无一不对他经手的音乐企画表示讚许，而怪才Damon依旧特立独行，在这张Amadou & Mariam的““Welcome To Mali”主打歌「Sabali」中担任製作人、并且参与合唱以及弹奏贝斯/键盘，不过看Damon曾在2002年发行一张“Mali Music”的过去纪录，可见Damon的确是对世界音乐有那么两把刷子，这首歌也很特别，开头製造出古老留声机的声响，Mariam哼唱著，中段用以电子节拍缀饰，相当动听。
A musical husband and wife duo that got its start in Mali, Amadou & Mariam met in 1975 at Mali's Bamako Institute for the Young Blind. Amadou (born Amadou Bagayoko in Bamako in October of 1954) began his musical career in 1968, and by 1974 joined Les Ambassadeurs du Motel, a leading group (which counted Salif Keita as a member) in his home country. He wound up at the aforementioned institute after becoming blind as a teenager through a congenital cataract. His future wife, Mariam Doumbia (born in Bamako on April 15, 1958), was already at the institute (she became blind at the age of five), studying Braille as well as teaching classes in dance and music. Over time, the pair would have a huge influence on the artistic programs at the school, with Amadou directing a group of pupils, and Mariam handling lead vocal duties for the school orchestra. In 1980, the pair married and decided that they would make a good collaborative musical team. Over the next five years, the duo performed in their home country, and Amadou's solo career and work won him many accolades and awards. In 1985, the group toured out of country for the first time, with shows in Burkina Faso. In 1986, Amadou & Mariam, realizing that Mali and its distinct lack of recording would be a major hindrance in their career, opted to move themselves to the neighboring Ivory Coast. There they began to release a series of cassettes (with help from the Nigerian producer Maikano) that would become the foundation of their later successes. By 1991, the pair had released four volumes of their work on cassette, and the buzz was enough that in 1994 they were invited to Paris to perform and record new work there. Although the resulting sessions were never released, Amadou & Mariam kept on, and in 1998 they released their first CD album, Sou Ni Tile. From 1998 to 2002, a series of releases shedding light on their early work (both together and solo) preceded their next album, Wati. In 2003, world music luminary Manu Chao began to work with the couple, and in 2004 Amadou & Mariam emerged from the studio with what was to be their landmark album, Dimance a Bamako. The success of the album led to tours, awards, and accolades from all over Europe and Africa. In 2005, they released a live album and DVD, and in 2007 got involved with Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz fame) and his Africa Express project, which played the famous Glastonbury Festival. In addition, that same year Amadou & Mariam performed at Bastille Day celebrations, as well as opening up for the American rock act Scissor Sisters in England.