by phil | Feb 2, 2011 | Mali, Music, W. Africa
Click here for part I of this series. The first post of the series was loaded with Wassoulou singers. There will be a few more in this post to go with the mystical music of Northern Mali that I didn’t get to last time. Oumou Sangare Another Wassoulou songstress...
by phil | Jan 30, 2011 | Mali, Music, W. Africa
This is the first part of a series that will highlight some of my favorite genres and artists in West Africa. On my past trip, I collected tapes and CDs, met musicians, and drank raw milk that was poured into my mouth out of a Calabash by Mamou Sidibe at a concert in...
by phil | Dec 3, 2010 | Mali, W. Africa
Where are the men? This is what I asked Fatima who I introduced myself to after she gave me a what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here look. I was under a promotional Ocean’s 13 tent at a wedding in Bamako. Fifty some women and me; George Clooney and Matt Damon looking...
by phil | Nov 23, 2010 | Mali, W. Africa
Bambara is the most widely spoken language in Mali. It bears great similarity to Dioula, the trading language spoken in many parts of the Sahel, including Northern Cote D’Ivoire and parts of Burkina Faso and Niger. Bambara is uncomplicated on the surface. There...
by phil | Nov 19, 2010 | Mali, Morocco, Stories, W. Africa
This title is misleading. It hasn’t quite been five months, I’ve spent very few days alone, and if you read this blog, you are already inside my head in one way or another. More than anything, you’re inside my bowels. My efforts at transparency have...
by phil | Nov 15, 2010 | Mali, Stories, W. Africa
This story has several parts. It has dragged on for too long and has been mostly about my poor health. I am sorry for that. It will be over soon and then I will talk about Dogon Country, a wedding, Bambara, camel drawing, and a few other pretty cool things about Mali....
