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Lobi Traoré
(Mali)
Biography
Lobi Traoré is a Bambara singer from a village near Segou, the heart of the Bambara region.
When he was 16 years old, he went to the town of Segou where he joined a folkoric music group.
Around 1980, when we was in Bamako, he got in contact with Zani Diabaté's Super
Djata Band, where he became a singer for the bambara repertoire.
A few years later, he started to sing solo in bars and at weddings, and the people of Bamako started to know him for his bambara music with that bluesy touch. Over the years, he added percussion (djembe, gourd and bongolo) to his music. A second album « Bamako » was recorded in 1994 and produced by Ali Farka Touré. It was the starting point of an international career.
Halfway the 1990s, Lobi has been touring across West Africa and Europe. An encounter with French harmonica player Vincent Bucher, who has been playing with several French and American blues artists, proves to be a fruitful and results in a lasting musical friendship. The album « Duga » contains the fruits of this collaboration.
Singing about Bambara kings, Lobi's songs are melancholic, and without him knowing, his music sounds very much like blues. After some years of relative silence, a new album with a compilation of his best songs has been released in France in September 2004. Several albums followed. Unfortunately, a heart attack in 2010 put an end to his life, far too early.
A few years later, he started to sing solo in bars and at weddings, and the people of Bamako started to know him for his bambara music with that bluesy touch. Over the years, he added percussion (djembe, gourd and bongolo) to his music. A second album « Bamako » was recorded in 1994 and produced by Ali Farka Touré. It was the starting point of an international career.
Halfway the 1990s, Lobi has been touring across West Africa and Europe. An encounter with French harmonica player Vincent Bucher, who has been playing with several French and American blues artists, proves to be a fruitful and results in a lasting musical friendship. The album « Duga » contains the fruits of this collaboration.
Singing about Bambara kings, Lobi's songs are melancholic, and without him knowing, his music sounds very much like blues. After some years of relative silence, a new album with a compilation of his best songs has been released in France in September 2004. Several albums followed. Unfortunately, a heart attack in 2010 put an end to his life, far too early.
Album cover 'Best of Lobi Traore'
• Musicians on the album « Duga »:
Lobi Traore Voice, Guitar
Vincent Bucher Harmonica
Bakary Traoré Djembé
Chaka Cenvint Doumbia Bongolo
Bréma Kouyaté Bass Guitar
Mama Diabaté N'goni
Alou Traoré Gourd
Moussa Koné Acoustic Guitar
Ramata Diakité Backing Vocals
Tata Diakité Backing Vocals
Yves Wernert Bass Guitar
Malik & Band Percussions (Track 7)
Born: 1961 in Bakaridianna (near Segou) as Bouréïma Traoré, died 1 June 2010
Style: Bambara music/ Mali blues
Discography
Lobi Traore Voice, Guitar
Vincent Bucher Harmonica
Bakary Traoré Djembé
Chaka Cenvint Doumbia Bongolo
Bréma Kouyaté Bass Guitar
Mama Diabaté N'goni
Alou Traoré Gourd
Moussa Koné Acoustic Guitar
Ramata Diakité Backing Vocals
Tata Diakité Backing Vocals
Yves Wernert Bass Guitar
Malik & Band Percussions (Track 7)
Born: 1961 in Bakaridianna (near Segou) as Bouréïma Traoré, died 1 June 2010
Style: Bambara music/ Mali blues
Discography
| Title | Year | Label | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bamako Nights: Live at Bar Bozo 1995 | 2013 | Glitterbeat GBCD 003 | CD |
| Bwati Kono (In The Club) Vol.1 | 2013 | Kanaga System Krush KSKLP-001 | LP |
| Bwati Kono (In The Club) | 2010 | Kanaga System Krush KSK 2010 | CD |
| Rainy Season Blues | 2010 | Glitterhouse GRCD711 | CD |
| Barra Coura | 2007 | Kanaga System Krush KSK | |
| I Yougoba | 2007 | Diesel Motor MOTORCD1030 | Album by Lobi Traoré & Joep Pelt |
| The Lobi Traoré Group | 2005 | Honest Jons HJRCD13 | Semi-live one take recording in Bamako |
| Mali Blue | 2004 | Dixiefrog DFGCD 8574 | (Best of compilation) |
| Duga | 1999 | Cobalt 09289-2 | |
| Ségou | 1996 | Cobalt 09275-2 | |
| Bamako | 1994 | Buda 82893-2 | |
| Bambara Blues | 1991 | Buda 82816-2 |
Sources
www.lobitraore.com/ Mali Music (now obsolete links)
www.lobitraore.com/ Mali Music (now obsolete links)
Page added April 2004