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Rokia Traoré
Creating a distinctive Malian sound through intimate vocals, guitar and inventive traditional-instrument arrangements.
Bowmboï · Tchamantché
- Born
- 24 January 1974
- Birthplace
- Kolokani, Mali
More people
Rokia Traoré
Rokia Traoré is a Malian singer, guitarist and songwriter. Her recordings connect Bamana-language singing with chamber music, rock and carefully layered acoustic textures.
Early life
A travelling childhood
Her father’s diplomatic work took her to several countries and exposed her to many musical traditions.
Malian grounding
Developed her own songwriting approach while drawing on music from her home country.
Career
- 1998
Debut release
Mouneïssa reached European audiences and established her unusual arrangements.
- 2003–2009
Wider recognition
Bowmboï and Tchamantché won international critical and music-award recognition.
- 2011 onward
Stage collaborations
Composed music for Desdemona and continued recording, including Beautiful Africa and Né So.
Selected work
Bowmboï
Included collaborations with the Kronos Quartet alongside Bamana-language songs.
Tchamantché
A guitar-centred album that won a French Victoires de la Musique award.
Beautiful Africa
A recording produced with John Parish that drew more strongly on electric instrumentation.
Beyond work
Cannes jury
Served on the main competition jury at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Refugee advocacy
Worked with UNHCR and dedicated Né So to people displaced by conflict in Mali and elsewhere.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Beautiful Africa — Nonesuch Records ↗Refugee advocacy — UNHCR ↗Photo: rom@nski photo. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
