Afropop Worldwide's "Mali Around the World-2004" program is dedicated to the memory of Hamou Ag Hamid, the manager of Touareg Tours, and also driver Mohammed Lamine. Both were killed in a tragic road accident in Mali the day after the 2004 Festival in the Desert. Hamou worked tirelessly to arrange transport for hundreds of visitors to the 2003 and 2004 festivals. He made a huge contribution to sharing Malian culture with the world, and he will be missed.

"Mali Around the World-2004" brings together current material from all corners of Mali, and the world. The program includes field recordings from the 2004 Festival in the Desert in Essakane, Mali, and also the 2003 Smithsonian Folkways Festival, which featured Mali for two weeks in exhibits and concerts on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The program also samples new work by a variety of Malian musical stars, including Neba Solo, Rokia Traore, Oumou Sangare, Tinariwen, Habib Koite, and Keletigui Diabate. This feature offers links to a variety of materials related to this program.

Tinariwen

The members of the Tuareg folk/rock group Tinariwen are now emerging as champions of Malian desert blues. As this program airs for the first time in October, 2004, Tinariwen is launching its first U.S. tour. We have an exclusive interview with Tinariwen's Abdallah, the group's spokesman and principle composer. This is a telephone interview conducted in the summer of 2004 when the group was touring in France. It includes a detailed account of the group's formation in North African refugee camps during the Tuareg rebellions of the 1980s and 90s. We also have Banning Eyre's review of Tinariwen's second album, Amassakoul, released in the U.S. in October 2004, in time for the group's debut U.S. tour.

Festival in the Desert

A highlight of the "Mali Around the World" program is a lengthy audio montage of music recorded by our colleague Mike Gubman at the 2004 Festival in the Desert in Essakane, Mali. This annual gathering of Tuareg clans, far from any towns or cities, has evolved into a sensational music festival, and an alluring attraction for the adventurous, music-loving traveler. The 2005 Festival will run from January 7-9. For some background on this amazing event, now approaching its fifth year, check out Andy Morgan's account of the first festival, near Kidal, in 2001. Once you've whetted your appetite, here are links to Afropop's widely acclaimed, photo-rich dispatches on the 2003 festival:

Festival in the Desert: 2003-Part 1
Festival in the Desert: 2003-Part 2

By now, we suspect some of you may be interested in exploring the idea of going to the festival yourself. For basic information about the 2005 festival, in French, go to the official Festival au Desert site.
For info in English, and details on a complete tour package, go to the Saga Tours website. See you in Timbuktu…

Mali on the Mall-2003

When the Smithsonian Institute brought some 200 Malian artisans, musicians, and handlers to the National Mall in Washington, DC, in the summer of 2003, it created the most extensive exhibit of Malian arts and culture Americans have ever seen. Afropop Worldwide's Banning Eyre was privileged to be a presenter during the two week festival. Some of his recordings and interviews appear in the "Mali Around the World" program. For a vivid and complete description of what went on at the Folkways festival, check out Banning's four features on the event, including many photographs and also sound clips from some of the artists who performed there.