Amadou & Mariam: King Tut's, Glasgow 01 Oct 2005

A quick survey of the locals in King Tut's suggests that Amadou & Mariam are somewhat removed from the venue's usual programming but nonetheless the place is heaving with a diverse audience, eager to catch the Mali couple live. A combination of super-producer cachet in the form of Manu Chao, some rather gushing praise from the music press and the all important win-over performances on Jools Holland has meant that there is a genuine buzz surrounding the duo and their latest album ‘Dimance a Bamako’, which fuses African rhythms with sun-infused electric funk and blues. Starting with ‘La Fete Au Village’, the set works its way through most of ‘Dimanche…’ with the notable absence of breakthrough single ‘Senegal Fast Food’.

While a recent discovery in European terms, married-couple Amadou & Mariam have recorded together for many years, after meeting at the Institute for the Blind in Bamako, Mali, where Amadou was a teaching assistant and Mariam one of the students. A friendship lead to a musical and marital partnership, and after releasing over ten albums in their native Mali and achieving a level of celebrity throughout West Africa and among the African diaspora in France, their recordings reached the ears of Manu Chao. The rest, as the story goes, is history.

Amadou & Mariam themselves appear genuinely touched by the audience's appreciation and engage in plenty of between song banter in French that is largely lost on the Glaswegians but the sentiments aren't hard to guess at, with both musicians grinning from ear to ear throughout the set. The support band in the form of two percussionists, a bass player and keyboardist display flights of brilliance themselves on occasion, and the infectious good will and air of sunshine would melt the coldest heart on this windy Scottish autumn evening. Highlights include ‘La Paix’ where the band get the audience to replace the absent flautist by singing along to that line of the melody, and a raucous version of recent single ‘Coulibaly’ that has the whole crowd dancing.

Two encores ensure value for money, with the first featuring earlier material from the pre-Chao days. The evening ends on an honest high, the audience leaving a little lighter of soul, albeit with aching jaws from smiling. Feel-good therapy rarely comes so reasonably priced and if Amadou & Mariam's star continues to shine, it won't for much longer.

words: Niamh Murray

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