Habib Koité

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Habib Koité
Habib Koité and Band 2014 in Detmold
Habib Koité 2014 at the Bardentreffen in Nuremberg
Koité in SanSibar .

Habib Koité (* 1958 in Thiès , Senegal ) is a Malian musician who lives in Bamako , the capital of Mali . He is a well known musician, guitarist and singer. With his group Bamada , which he founded in 1988 together with longstanding musical companions, he gave numerous concerts all over the world.

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Habib Koité comes from a Kassonké griot family. His father worked on the railroad (line Dakar , Senegal to Bamako , Mali) and the family moved to Kayes (Mali) in 1959 . Habib Koité grew up with 17 siblings in a very large family, in which dealing with music and various instruments was very natural. His grandfather is said to have mastered the donso ngoni , an instrument traditionally played by hunters, also known as the "bush harp". Koité himself describes it in such a way that his parents and siblings played guitar and he also tried this instrument and gradually learned to play it himself. His mother, who sang as a griotte at numerous festivals, he often accompanied on the guitar.

An uncle noticed the boy's extraordinary talent, which is why he worked hard to ensure that Habib did not start studying engineering, as originally planned, but instead studied music at the Institut National des Arts (INA) in Bamako. In 1982 he completed his studies there and then stayed for many years as a guitar teacher at the university.

Musical development

On his musical path, Habib Koité had the opportunity to play with many greats from his country early on, including Toumani Diabaté , Khalilou Traoré (brother of Boubacar Traoré ) and Kélétigui Diabaté , who belonged to his group Bamada until 2009 .

With this group, founded in 1988, Koité initially appeared in clubs. In 1991 he had his first international success when he won the first prize at the Voxpole Festival in Perpignan . He then recorded the anti-smoking song Cigarette a bana , which made him popular across West Africa. Another award, at Radio France International , promoted his international career and he was able to undertake his first tour outside Africa. In 1995 the group recorded their first album, Muso Ko ("Woman"), which was immediately very successful in the European world music scene. With the second album Ma Ya ("To be human"), recorded in 1998 , he was able to establish himself successfully as a musician in the USA. He worked u. a. with Eric Bibb and Bonnie Raitt . The no less successful album Baro (Chat) followed in 2001 . Habib Koité and Bamada were now touring all over the world regularly. In 2003 the live album Foly around the World was created from recordings of these concerts , followed by the last studio album, Afriki (2007).

Musical style

Many musicians from the multi-ethnic state of Mali are committed to a specific ethnic musical tradition. In contrast, Habib Koité has always been interested in a wide variety of styles and integrated them into his songs. There are also elements from flamenco or reggae . However, it is also important to him to preserve musical traditions that are threatened with extinction. On the album “Afriki” you can hear traditional horn blowers in the piece Nta Dima , a form of music that is rarely played by young men. Music critics like to describe Habib Koité's style as a “hypnotic sound carpet” on which his warm voice can unfold. Habib Koité's virtuoso guitar playing also attracts a lot of attention.

Musical projects

One hears again and again about unrest in Northern Mali. The Tuareg population there feels disadvantaged and struggles with the idea of ​​a border-setting nation state. For many Malians in the south, however, the Tuareg are bandits and smugglers. More than once, such conflicts have brought Mali to the brink of civil war. In his song “Fatma” (1995, on the album “Muso Ko”), Habib Koité lets a young man roam the whole country in search of his dream woman. In the north of the country he finally found the dream he had: Fatma. The idea behind the song is: We are one country. It was in this spirit that the Desert Blues project emerged , for which Habib Koité & Bamada, the Touareg group Tartit and Afel Bocoum and his group Alkibar came together for various performances. This project motivated the French filmmaker Michel Jaffrenou in 2006 to make the film Jusqu'à Tombouctou (German: "Desert Blues"), which takes you on a musical journey through Mali and portrays the three Desert Blues groups. Kirina , a Manding opera that was performed in Nice in the summer of 2008 , was also created in collaboration with Michel Jaffrenou .

Discography

  • 1995: Muso Ko
  • 1998: Ma Ya
  • 2001: Baro
  • 2004: Foly
  • 2007: Afriki
  • 2012: Brothers in Bamako (with Eric Bibb )
  • 2014: Soô
  • 2019: Kharifa

Web links

Commons : Habib Koité  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Koité, Habib
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Malian musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Thiès , Senegal