The Tamani for Best New Artist Goes to….
Mah Bara Soumano!
Ten hours before Mah won the award, I had the pleasure of meeting her. After a guitar lesson, Lamine Soumano drove me out on his motorcycle to buy a ticket of my own to the ceremony, and we picked up Mah’s entry badge while there.
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I have arrived in Mali!
I have arrived in Mali! The red earth, the bustling traffic of taxis and mopeds zipping around town, the music blaring from corner radios, and the beautiful River Niger welcomed me in to the capital city, Bamako, where I’ll be spending the next 7 months.
After a whirlwind three weeks of visiting my family and friends and after a series of increasingly painful goodbyes, I took off on a series of flights that took me San Francisco – Atlanta – Dakar – Bamako.
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Hi everybody!
Hi everybody! I just got back to California. I spent the last two months in New York getting ready for my trip by working with the awesome people at Afropop Worldwide, a nonprofit organization devoted to African music. They do some great stuff, so if you get a chance, check them out online at www.afropop.org and look for their show on your local public radio station.
But why was I at Afropop? While I was getting my mtvU-Fulbright application together, I did a lot of research on Mali at the library. The Senior Editor of Afropop, Banning Eyre (more about him www.banningeyre.com), wrote a book called In Griot Time that tells a lot about his own experiences in Mali as a guitarist in 1995. I decided that rather than leave earlier for Mali, it would be much more beneficial for me to work with him and with Afropop for a couple of months first. I’m glad I did it, as now I have many more contacts and a lot more knowledge about Mali and its music scene!
I take off for Mali on November 10, which means that I get to be around for both Halloween and the election. I’m spending the next few weeks visiting friends and family as well as familiarizing myself with my audio recording equipment.
Well, I’ll keep it short since this is my first post. The next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy for me, so I’ll just say nice to meet all of you I’ll post more from Mali!
Up to four awards will be available to pursue projects around an aspect of international contemporary or popular music as a cultural force for expression. Preference will be given to creative projects that are conveyed in a dynamic fashion and are accompanied by a feasible plan. In addition to presenting unique projects on music as a global force for mutual understanding. Deadline to apply is March 1, 2012.