The album KASSA available in 2009
Adama Yalomba's Afro Pop.
Adama was born in 1970 in Bamako, Mali. As a young boy his father teach him to play dan, a traditional Malian instrument with 6 strings. Then he plays across Mali during 10 years with his band, as western African traditional musicians.
In 2003, the western audience discovers an amazing record that will reach directly the best seller positions in American charts for world music. What must be said is that FESTIVAL AU DESERT 2003 compounded all the greatest and famous names of Malian Music, showed in all its diversity (Ali Farka Touré, Tinariwen, Oumou Sangare, Tartit, Afel Bocoum…), with some additional notorious guests as Robert Plant (the Led Zeppelin mythical singer).
In the middle of this album, a young artist imposes himself thanks to his voice and his hallucinating string play. Adama Yalomba placed then its first paving stone on the way that will drive him to international recognition.
Afro pop!
His brand new album KASSA , the first one distributed outside Africa, has been recorded in Bogolan Studio in Bamako (the most famous studio in western Africa where the missed Ali Farka Touré, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Björk as well as for instance Tinariwen have chosen for their latest album). People familiar with African music industry know how difficult it is for native artists to get European or American sound production quality standards. Hence, KASSA is the album that finally does justice to Adama Yalomba talent.
All his travels around the world have opened his ears and his mind as one can notice along the 12 album titles. From indisputable hits («Bara», «Kassa», «Djalamale»…) to more introspective singles (the wonderful «Kadidja», «Nougoudjougou», «Odel»…), Adama plays with languages (Bambara, Boso, Linguala, French) and with instruments to give birth to deep, intimate and strong songs.
There was afro beat, afro jazz, Adama Yalomba invents now groovy afro pop , halfway to his millenary roots and his elsewhere’s desires.
Act together!
Act together seems to be Adama’s slogan, always seeking for any encounter that could enrich his art. So, it is possible to listen to his strings (vocal, dan, n’goni, guitar) with his fellow citizens (Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, Habib Koïté, Oumou Sangaré, Guerebou Kounkan, Rokia Traoré …) as well as on Mali lover's artists (hip-hop globetrotter Kwal, the fiddled pop of Toma Sidibé, the deep dub of Manjul …)
Then, it was obvious to find a bunch of guests on his brand new album : Cheikh Tidiane Seck (playing also with the jazzman Archie Shepp or rapper Rockin’ Squat of Assassin), Keziah Jones (passing by Bamako as Adama was recording, he put some of his slender guitar notes after he had listened first album draft!), Nicolas Repac (Arthur H guitarist whose passion for Africa is well known thanks to his work with Mamani Keita), Kwal and Manjul are all part of this international casting.
Although those talented guests bring their touch, Adama Yalomba is still the real boss of this album thanks to his charisma and an open-mindedness that drive a consistent equilibrium between traditional music and undisputable modernity.
Adama Yalomba demonstrates in the most beautiful way with his creation that “the African man†has well and truly entered the History….
Adama Yalomba, voit le jour au milieu des années 70 au Nord de Bamako au Mali. C'est aux cotés de son père, un virtuose du dan, qu'Adama apprend à jouer les premières notes de cet instrument traditionnel à six cordes et six manches.
Il parcourt pendant près de dix ans le Mali profond avec son groupe dans la tradition des conteurs et des griots des épopées d’Afrique de l’Ouest.
En 2003, un disque atteint les sommets des charts de world music. FESTIVAL AU DESERT 2003 réunit les grands noms de la musique malienne (Ali Farka Touré, Tinariwen, Oumou Sangare, Tartit, Afel Bocoum …) ainsi que des invités prestigieux comme Robert Plant ou Manu Chao.
Sur ce disque on découvre un artiste talentueux qui éblouit par sa voix et son jeu, Adama Yalomba vient de poser le premier jalon sur le chemin qui va le mener à la reconnaissance international.
Afro pop!
Après 2 albums, son nouvel opus, KASSA, est le premier distribué hors d'Afrique. Il est enregistré au Studio Bogolan à Bamako (ce studio mythique d'Afrique de l'Ouest a notamment enregistré des artistes tels que le regretté Ali Farka Touré, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Björk, Tinariwen, Rokia Traoré, Damon Albarn et la liste est longue …).
La production à Bogolan permet à Adama de trouver le "son" de qualité qui valorise ses talents d'instrumentiste et de chanteur, puis l'album s’enrichit alors à Paris de la collaboration du producteur–batteur Stéphane Bonvent (Sinclair, Cunnie Williams, Francis Lalanne, Malia, Téri Moïse, Koxie…) qui révèle la couleur métissée Afro pop des tubes incontournables «Baara», «Kassa», «Collaborer», «Djamakoyo» … comme des morceaux plus introspectifs : les superbes «Kadidja», «Nugudjugu», «Odel» …
Il y a l'Afro beat, l'Afro jazz, Adama Yalomba invente l'Afro pop, à mi-chemin entre ses racines millénaires et les différentes influences de ses multiples voyages musicaux.
Collaborer!
Cela pourrait être le slogan d'Adama, toujours à la recherche de rencontres enrichissantes. Ainsi, il joue avec ses compatriotes : Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, Rokia Troré, Habib Koïté, Oumou Sangaré, Nampé Sadio …
Et il n'est pas étonnant de trouver des artistes renommés invités sur l'album KASSA : Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Keziah Jones (de passage à Bamako pendant l'enregistrement de l'album, il désire poser quelques notes de guitare avec Adama!), Nicolas Repac (le guitariste d'Arthur H, dont la passion pour l'Afrique n'est plus à démontrer après son travail avec Mamani Keita), Manjul …
Adama Yalomba demeure pourtant le seul «maitre a bord» de son album, grace a son charisme et son ouverture d'esprit il trouve toujours le juste équilibre entre musique traditionnelle et une indiscutable modernité.