Fatoumata Diawara

Fatoumata Diawara is such an individual musician who is originally from the Ivory Coast, born to Malian parents. She moved to France to pursue a career in acting and of course landing some fantastic roles, such as Cissoko’s 1999 film La Ganèse and Kouyatés film Sia, le reve du python. It’s almost as though she was satisfied with her success in film and acting as she gravitated a little bit more towards music, taking up the guitar and writing songs that featured traditional Southern Mali music and some large world music influences.

It is such an honour to witness what she does live. She performs with such energy and confidence that exudes from her being. Her voice is so distinct as she performs songs such as “Bakonoba” and “Kele”. Her genre is so distinct, and she is extremely charismatic with the way that she performs. She rounds off her set with “Sowa”, encouraging the audience to dance, which isn’t difficult at all with how percussive her music is.