Welcome to Mali

Welcome To Mali
Studio album by Amadou & Mariam
Released	November 17, 2008 (Europe) March 24, 2009 (US)
Genre	Pop music African blues Electronic Worldbeat
Length	57:33
Label	Because Music (Europe) Nonesuch Records (US)
Producer	Marc Antoine Moreau Laurent Jais Damon Albarn
Amadou & Mariam chronology
Dimanche à Bamako (2005) Welcome To Mali (2008) Folila (2012)

Welcome to Mali is the fifth studio album by Malian musicians Amadou & Mariam. It was released on Because Music on November 17, 2008, in Europe and was released on Nonesuch Records on March 24, 2009, in the United States.

In 2012 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe. ^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sabali"	Albarn, Doumbia, Moreau	3:15
2.	"Ce N'est Pas Bon"	Bagayoko, Moreau	3:49
3.	"Magosa [2] "	Doumbia	3:43
4.	"Djama"	Bagayoko, Dembele	3:15
5.	"Djuru"	Doumbia	3:35
6.	"Je Te Kiffe (feat. Juan Rozoff)"	Bagayoko, Rosoff	4:18
7.	"Masiteladi (feat. -M-)"	Bagayoko	3:56
8.	"Africa (feat. K'Naan)"	Bagayoko, Keinan	3:48
9.	"Compagnon de la Vie"	Bagayoko	3:46
10.	"Unissons-nous (feat. Keziah Jones)"	Doumbia	4:16
11.	"Bozos"	Bagayoko	3:46
12.	"I Follow You (Nia Na Fin)"	Bagayoko	4:02
13.	"Welcome to Mali"	Bagayoko	3:20
14.	"Batoma"	Doumbia	4:13
15.	"Sebeke"	Bagayoko, Doumbia	4:31
16.	"Boula (hidden track)"
Total length:			57:33

Singles

"Sabali," released on 27 October 2008, was the first single from the album. The second single was "Masiteladi."

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100 [3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	A– [5]
Christgau’s Consumer Guide	A [6]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [7]
Mojo	[8]
The Observer	[9]
Q	[10]
Pitchfork	8.4/10 [11]
Uncut	[3]
Under the Radar	9/10 [12]

Welcome to Mali has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 86 out of 100, indicating "Universal acclaim." ^[3]

Keith Phillips of The A.V. Club gave the album a grade of A−, writing "Welcome To Mali sounds heavily produced but not overproduced, and even with the pings and whizzing, Amadou’s playing and the pair’s singing insure it never sounds less than organic." ^[13] In another positive review, Pitchfork Media's Joe Tangari wrote: "This album is an affirmation of global connectivity and an emerging global culture that transcends and repurposes tradition as it sees fit-- the sound of Mali merging with the world at large." ^[14]

Paste's Nick Marino, on the other hand, called the album "frustratingly uneven," writing: "[D]espite moments of exuberance, it can also feel like a mundane grind [...]" ^[15]

In August 2009, the webzine Pitchfork Media named Sabali the 249th track in their staff list "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" ^[16] and earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album nomination in 2010.

References

1. "Aktuelles VUT: VUT - Verband unabhängiger Musikunternehmer*innen e. V."
2. Spelled "Magossa" on the CD back cover, but "Magosa" on http://amadou-mariam.com/, "Magosa" is the title with which this song was registered with the SACEM, "Magossa" being the subtitle
3. Critic Reviews for Welcome to Mali. Metacritic. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
4. Jurek, Thom (November 17, 2008). "Welcome to Mali - Amadou & Mariam". AllMusic . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
5. Phipps, Keith (March 24, 2009). "Amadou & Mariam: Welcome To Mali". The A.V. Club . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
6. Christgau, Robert. "Amadou & Mariam". Robert Christgau . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
7. Williams, K. Leander (March 25, 2009). "Music". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
8. Welcome to Mali celebrates its artificiality, flaunts its illegitimacy and waggles its infidelities in your face. Amadou & Mariam have just damned authenticite to an eternity in caducite. [Dec 2008, p.98]
9. Thompson, Ben (9 November 2008). "World review: Amadou & Mariam, Welcome to Mali". The Observer . Retrieved 6 May 2025.
10. Truely, a voyage of discovery. [Jan 2009, p.121]
11. Tangari, Joe (November 18, 2008). "Welcome to Mali - Amadou & Mariam". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
12. Like all of Welcome To Mali, the underpinnings of 'I Think Of You' are fantastically layered, with a combination of precision timing and in-the-moment passion. [Winter 2009, p.68]
13. Phillips, Keith. Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali. The A.V. Club. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
14. Tangari, Joe. Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali. Pitchfork Media. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
15. Marino, Nick. Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali. Paste. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
16. Pitchfork Staff (17 August 2009). "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s". Pitchfork . Retrieved 17 August 2009.