Fatou (album)

Fatou
Studio album by Fatoumata Diawara
Released	September 19, 2011 (2011-09-19)
Studio	Livingston Studios, London and Popcorn Lab, Paris
Genre	World music, Wassoulou, desert blues
Length	43:58
Label	World Circuit
Fatoumata Diawara chronology
Fatou (2011) Fenfo (Something To Say) (2018)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[1]
MusicOMH	[2]
The Observer	[3]
Pitchfork	7.6/10 [4]
PopMatters	8/10 [5]
Uncut	[6]

Fatou is the debut album from Malian musician Fatoumata Diawara. Uncut placed the album at number 34 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011", ^[7] The Sunday Times named it number 1 world music album in the 2011 end of year polls ^[8] and WMCE voted it 2011 album of the year. ^[9]

Background

The album was recorded following a successful acting career and tours as a backing singer with Diawara's mentor Oumou Sangaré, who brought her to the attention of World Circuit Records and to whom the song, "Makoun Oumou" is dedicated. Sung in the Bambara language of Wassoulou and backing herself on guitar, Diawara explores themes of war, abandonment of children and female circumcision (Boloko) supported by contributions from West African virtuosi Tony Allen (drums) and Toumani Diabaté (kora) as well as Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Fatoumata Diawara.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kanou"	3:53
2.	"Sowa"	3:07
3.	"Bakonoba"	3:15
4.	"Kèlè"	3:08
5.	"Makoun Oumou"	4:36
6.	"Sonkolon"	3:31
7.	"Alama"	3:35
8.	"Bissa"	3:05
9.	"Mousso"	3:18
10.	"Wililé"	4:50
11.	"Boloko"	3:34
12.	"Clandestin"	3:59
Total length:		43:58

Personnel

• Fatoumata Diawara – vocals, guitar (all tracks except 2), shaker (tracks 1, 4–6, 11), calabash (track 1), udu (track 5)

Other credits

• Alioune Wade – bass guitar (tracks 1, 10, 12)
• Hilaire Penda – bass guitar (tracks 3, 5, 9, 11)
• John Paul Jones – bass guitar (track 6)
• Sola Akingbola – congas (tracks 4, 8, 9)
• Jon Grandcamp – drums (tracks 4, 10, 12)
• Sebastian Rochford – drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, 11)
• Tony Allen – drums (track 9)
• Moh! Kouyaté – electric guitar (tracks 3, 4, 6, 9, 11)
• Guimba Kouyaté – guitar (tracks 2, 10, 12), ngoni (tracks 5, 6, 11)
• Ousmane Keita – ngoni (track 1)
• Boris Persikoff – keyboards (track 1)
• Madou Kone – calabash (track 4)
• Toumani Diabaté – kora (track 10)

Technical

• Fatoumata Diawara, Nick Gold – production
• Guy Davie – mastering
• Bernie Grundman, Jerry Boys, Tom Leader, Tony Cousins – additional mastering
• Marc Loisel – recording
• Boris Persikoff, Christophe Marais, Lucas Chauviere – additional recording
• Dan Ingall – engineering

References

1. Robin Denselow (2011-09-16), "Fatoumata Diawara: Fatou – review", theguardian.com, The Guardian , retrieved 2024-05-09
2. Steven Johnson (2011-09-19), "Fatoumata Diawara – Fatou", musicomh.com, MusicOMH, archived from the original on 2013-05-21, retrieved 2024-05-08
3. Neil Spencer (2011-09-18), "Fatoumata Diawara: Fatou – review", theguardian.com, The Observer , retrieved 2024-05-09
4. Joe Tangari (2011-09-22), "Fatou – Fatoumata Diawara (review)", pitchfork.com, Pitchfork, archived from the original on 2024-01-23, retrieved 2024-05-08
5. David Maine (2012-09-19), "Fatoumata Diawara: Fatou", popmatters.com, PopMatters , retrieved 2024-05-09
6. John Lewis (September 2011). "Fatoumata Diawara – Fatou". Uncut . p. 89.
7. "Uncut's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. 2011-11-29.
8. "The Sunday Times". The Sunday Times. 2012-04-22. Archived from the original on December 12, 1998.
9. "Charts - World Music Charts Europe". Wmce.de.