Blind pop stars on Jools's show
First, there was in the '70s (ask your mother). Then there was in the last series of The X Factor (ask your kids). And now there's (er, ask the nearest fan of World Music).
Actually, Amadou et Mariam are a bit different from the other two duos, who were made up of the pairing of a blind male singer with a sighted female, because this middle-aged married couple from Mali are both blind. I've listened to a little of their music via their (which is all in French - sorry!) and it's quite poppy and funky, offering a little sunlight on such a grey and overcast day.
Looking for a better description, I asked our office's resident expert on the World Music scene - Colin, who works on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Skillswise website - to sum up Amadou et Mariam's sound rather more knowledgeably, and he informed me that it's "traditional Malian music, sprinkled with a flavour of Francophone pop". So there you go.
Amadou et Mariam, then. Definitely worth checking out - and you can do just that by watching Later with Jools Holland this Friday at 11.35pm on Ö÷²¥´óÐã TWO. Coldplay are on, too - if that's more your musical cup of tea.
Comments
Hi My name is Christopher Elliott and I am aged 23. Recently I have written a song to illurstrate the probblems that people have to face in third world countries. As a blind person, why does the Ö÷²¥´óÐã only interview famous celebrities? I believe as a blind song writer I think that I should be given the chance to express my feelings on the issue of third world debt.
Please do interview Christopher Elliot, the blind song writer. I have just heard a brief part of his and his co singer's beautiful song on ITV about Africa. It is heart rending. Please bring them into the open.