 |
|
Habib Koité is one of Mali’s most popular and recognized musicians and has enjoyed great success and renown as an international artist, working with such musicians as Eric Bibb and Bonnie Raitt among others.
He was born in 1958 in the Senegalese town of Thiés, and comes from the Khassonke Griot tradition – a hereditary caste of musicians. Raised in Mali’s capital of Bamako, Habib taught himself the guitar in order to accompany his mother’s singing. He gained such an ability that he was accepted at the National Institute of Arts (NIA) in Bamako in 1978, and after he graduated in 1982 he went on to teach the guitar there for four years. Being at the NIA gave Habib the opportunity to play with some of Mali’s top musicians such as Toumani Diabaté and Kélétigui Diabaté.
It wasn’t until the late 80s that Habib formed his own band called ‘Banada’ (which roughly translates as “in the mouth of the crocodile”) which toured throughout Mali, later going onto France where they took first prize at the Perpignan Voxpole Festival in 1991. This offered them the opportunity to record two songs – one of which was “Cigarette A Bana” which became a great hit across West Africa. This signaled the beginning of Habib’s recordings as a solo artist, and in1999 he released his first album ‘Muso Ko’ which topped the European World Music charts.
Habib’s style is unique both musically and technically as a guitarist. His guitar playing is influenced by the Kamelan Ngoni which was played by his father, and he tunes the guitar to the pentatonic scale, playing on open strings as one would on the Kamelan Ngoni. His sometimes bluesy, flamenco sound was inspired by Khalilou Traoré who taught him how to play in these two styles.
Mali is the home to many rich and diverse musical traditions, each of which have their own numerous regional variations and styles that are specific to the local cultures to which they belong. Uniquely, Habib brings together the essence of each of these numerous styles, creating what might be called a new “pan-Malian” sound.
Habib’s most recent album ‘Afriki’ (which means ‘Africa’) is about both the challenges and strengths of the African continent. “People her in Africa are willing to risk death trying to leave for Europe or the USA” says Habib, “but they are not willing to take that risk staying to develop something here in Africa. Life can be really good or really bad wherever you live. People need to understand that. Even though Mali is poor, we still have good quality of life; you can walk outside an smile and someone will smile back. I have thought about it a lot, and I am not sure if poor countries have a worse quality of life.” (Habib Koité)
|
|
