Amadou Et Miriam

Amadou Et Mariam hail originally from Mali, where they met at the Institute for Young Blind in Bamako, the capital. They first performed together back in ’77 as part of the institute’s Eclipse Orchestra, though both already had a musical heritage.
Amadou(Bagayoko) had played guitar in the Ambassadeurs Du Motel De Bamako, whilst Mariam(Doumbia) had performed vocal duties at weddings and festivals in Mali.
They became a couple and incorporated music into their relationship. With lack of opportunities in Mali, they moved to Ivory Coast, where a number of recordings brought them wider success. This opened doors for them into Paris, their European base, and then in to Europe generally.
The music takes it’s base from African pop and then blends them with influences such as the blues and reggae. The band have been on the road earlier in the year and a live footage film of part of that tour is also available.
African bands have always gone down well at Cambridge and Amadou Et Miriam should be no exception, expect a riot of music and colour. The band are making their Cambridge debut.
A selection of Amadou Et Mariam’s tunes can be found on http://www.myspace.com/amadouandmariam

Post Festival Notes
I only heard a very small section of Amadou Et Miriam's set, they lost out in a three way shoot out with Dervish and Uiscedwr, which ultimately the latter won. From the little that I did hear, they seem entertaining and I'd go to a gig if they played locally.