Fatoumata Diawara at Stockholm Jazz Festival

Fatoumata Diawara is a singer from Mali, whose heartfelt melodies transformed the opening of Stockholm Jazz Festival into a spiritual experience. Dedicating herself to traditional singing in Mali’s native languages, Bambara and Wassoulou, Fatoumata filled her performance with a message of peace and freedom.

An actress from a young age, she confronted numerous obstacles on the way to stardom. With her parents opposed to her pursuing her dreams, she needed to escape to France in order to follow her calling. After performing for film and theatre, lately in Oscar-nominated ‘’Timbuktu’’, she turned to music as a way of artistic expression. She now uses her songs to speak up for those whose voices are silenced: girls subjected to genital mutilation in ‘’Boloko’’; young women married against their will in ‘’Bissa’’; orphaned children in ‘’Sowa’’. But she also has the rare gift of turning these tragic stories into her strength. On the stage of Stockholm’s Kulturhusets Stadsteater, her unbeatable spirit took the enthusiastic audience for a journey through a musical landscape filled with nostalgia and pain but also warmth and love.

After the concert Krull had a chance to talk to Fatoumata about her personal experience as an African female musician.

– Tonight you’ve performed a magical concert in a special collaboration with Stockholm Art Orchestra. How did you feel on the stage ?

I just felt Peace. All my work circulates around the idea of keeping my peace in connection to my background as an African woman. Working with music protects me and allows me to keep kind and positive. It is like a healing that allows me to forget about my past, soothe my soul. It’s as if music was telling me “don’t worry”. Just keep on what you are doing, accept what you have and what happened in the past and try to make it better for the future. It’s like a voice of God.
Tonight, I was singing in my native language Bambara, using a very old, traditional type of singing. But sometimes I could adapt my voice to the music played by the jazz band and create a kind of fusion. We had a lot of improvisations and I am really surprised how well it worked, ‘cause we didn’t have time to rehearse it all. But I trusted them. You know, all is about love. We just did it. It was unique. That’s why I said freedom from the stage, because that’s what I felt. Freedom and peace.

– How do you find your place within the modern music industry?

Actually I think it is quite easy to find your place once you know what you want to defend, who you want to be. I’m trying to defend traditional music because there is not many people from my generation doing it. I just want to tell them: you don’t need to change your roots to be understood by the others. Just keep being who you are, because the audience needs the truth. You can adapt yourself, but never change.

– You started as an actress at a young age and then continued as a singer. How was your journey into discovering your calling? Tonight on stage you mentioned your aunt, who also is a great singer- did the way you were brought up influence your creative path?

Voice came to me very late, but it was not bad. I’ve always liked to sing alone, just for myself and I kept doing it until now. I sing alone in my basement, just to feel comfortable, to feel the energy and harmony.
I spoke about my aunt, who has been a great singer, but it was difficult for her to pursue her dreams. She had a strong and amazing voice. Every time she would sing it was killing me, really touching my soul. But marriage was very difficult for her. In Africa, we still sometimes have this problem: to be respected in the area you need to be married to a drummer or a guitar player. When you are a female musician, but your husband is not in music, you can easily be judged. People are scared of you or think you are a bitch. I’m trying to show that you can do it differently. My husband is not working with music, he does other things. I want to tell my generation that you don’t need to sacrifice yourself and be with somebody you don’t love just to work on your music projects. We still have a lot to do on this subject.
I’ve been always trying to do something more for my passion, but I didn’t see this example in my family. So now I am trying to help my dear aunt. I got her to sing one song for my last movie documentary ‘’Mali Blues’’. I will also produce her first album. But it feels a bit too late: it was all supposed to happen earlier in her life. Sometimes I hear her voice and ask “Why?” My aunt gave me a good example through her singing, but her life scared me.

– But you have also collaborated with great fellow artists of African descent all around the world: Oumou Sangaré, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Omara Portuondo, Mayra Andrade- just to mention a few. How were these meetings for you and how was the experience of sisterhood that you share?

They have all shown me one thing: how important is it to be generous. How important it is to give. To give, you have to love. Give, only give, and you will always receive it back. When you are on stage, give it all.
They also taught me how important is it for women to be on stage. Almost all of these great artists are older now. There are just a few young African female artists defending the kind of music we do. I want to thank these tremendous women, who keep travelling around the world sharing the African music and soul. To the young ones, I want to say: keep your roots and the world will clap for you for who you are.

– You have such a strong personal style. Looking at your beautiful dresses, jewellery, and these amazing shells you have in your hair, we also need to ask about your outstanding sense of fashion- how do you choose your stage image?

My fashion is very simple! It is always the same. I don’t think too much. Many designers approach me and want to make clothes for me, but I’m waiting a bit with that. It is very important for me to stay true to myself and my dress reflects that truth, just as my music does. So right now I am mostly having somebody doing clothes for me based on my own ideas.
The shells are an African password. They are the only thing that all the African people in the world share. We do not even realize how important they are for us. If you travel the world, for instance when you go to Cuba, you will see them as well. They remind us what Africa is, where we all come from. They subconsciously bring all the memories. Even Stevie Wonder has them! You don’t know why, but when you have them, you feel African, it is something close to your soul, to your roots. As I am trying to represent Africa in general, not only Mali, they allow me to say: we are together.

words Weronika Pérez Borjas
photo Andrea Davis Kronlund

Krull’s recommendations for Stockholm Jazz Festival:

Hailu Mergia (Ethiopia)- Monday 10/10, 20:00, Fasching
Miriam Aïda (Sweden/Brazil)- Monday 10/10, 20:00, Mornington Hotel
Tia Fuller Trio (USA)- Friday 14/10, 20:00, Fasching
Abdullah Ibrahim Mukashi Trio (South Africa)- Friday 14/10, 19:00, Konserthuset
Mzwakhe Dumzara presents African Jazz Night– Friday 14/10, 20:00, Stallet
Dee Dee Bridgewater & Archie Shepp Quartet (USA)- Saturday 15/10, 19:00 Konserthuset
BJ The Chicago Kid (USA)- Saturday 15/10, 21:00, Kägelbanan Södra Teater
Cory Henry (USA)- Sunday 16/10, 20:00, Fasching