Away From the Light of Day

Away From the Light of Day

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Tags: Musician Memoir, Books In Translation

Amadou and Mariam with Idrissa. Translated by Anne Wright

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia met at an institute for young blind people in Bamako, Mali, and fell in love both musically and romantically. Following several years of performing and releasing cassettes in the their native West Africa, they went on to become stars of the international stage with a string of best selling albums.

The magic couple Amadou and Mariam are one of the most loved and successful acts to come out of Africa this century, but their story is not one of overnight success. They have been singing their warm notes for more than thirty years. This autobiography traces Amadou’s early years in Mali, first accepting his blindness, then adapting, to finding a source of joy in music and playing alongside some of the country’s leading musicians. On meeting Mariam at an institute for the blind in Bamako, he discovers they share a passion for music and for life, they fall in love and begin their career as a duo in search of an international stage.

Away from the Light of Day is an inspiring story which reveals the source of this golden duo’s contagious music, threading its way between tradition, religion, hope and superstition.

‘I don’t think there’s ever been a band from Africa with whom people have engaged in quite such a way.’  – Damon Albarn

‘The fizziest afro-pop blues ever bottled.’  – Observer

Paperback

Mojo

The picture Amadou paints of West African life in the 60s and 70s is vivid, and it is impossible not to be impressed by his refusal ever to feel sorry for himself.

Songlines

It’s Amadou who narrates the bulk of the tale, explaining Malian quirks and traditions with an amusing directness, and conveying his love for Mariam with the sort of heartwarming guilelessness that has become the couple’s trademark.

Word

As far from Mötley Crüe’s The Dirt as music biography gets.

Total Music Magazine

A very revealing look at the cultural traditions and – to western eyes at least – the superstitions that make up the nuts and bolts of Malian life.

The Fishing Festival

In this extract from Away From the Light of Day, Amadou's father forbids him to join in with the annual fishing festival, so he brings along his flute and joins in with two percussionists to play music to the fishermen. The rewards are much greater than he had anticipated.

In Mali, the dry season begins in November and lasts until the first rains come at the end of May, or the beginning of June. A drop in the river level signals the start of the festive season in the villages. The high point of the festivities is when the whole village goes fishing together. I was lucky enough to be part of this collective fish for the first time in Douansan, where fishing is done in a traditional way with rudimentary implements. The catch is divided into two, one half for eating and the other to sell.

I had heard so much about the festival that I was dying to take part. When the long-awaited day arrived, I wanted to go into the river with the others and get close to the fish. But my father advised against it, arguing that the water was too churned up by all the fishermen chasing the biggest fish. When I insisted he said, ‘Even men whose eyesight is one hundred per cent perfect risk getting hurt. You can hardly see anything, it’s best you don’t go.’ Until then I hadn’t really been conscious of being less able than the others. I didn’t realise how disabled I was, or rather I didn’t want to accept it. I felt like crying. Standing by and watching my friends fishing in the river was so frustrating. That’s when I got really worried, I resented what this cruel illness was stealing from my life.

I went into my bedroom. Sitting on the bed, I put my head in my hands. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to disobey my father but neither did I want to stand on the bank watching my friends fishing. Then I thought of going back with my flute. A huge crowd of men was moving towards the river. Only women, young children, old people and the very ill had stayed at home, and some men in charge of village security. It was very hot. The reflection of the sun’s rays on the water made the naked torsos sparkle. In the shade of a huge baobab tree, the village chief and his counsellors were sitting in a most dignified manner. Everyone was waiting for them to signal the start.

Two tam-tam players were standing on the bank when the chief declared the festivities open. They began to beat their tam-tams rhythmically together. Everyone fell silent as the village chief made a speech which basically said that everyone had to look out for each other. I remember him insisting that the fishing should be joyful, peaceful and good-humoured, as it had been in previous years. A murmur of gratitude rose from the crowd, followed by a huge noise as the villagers threw themselves into the water. The fishermen stood side by side, crouched over, with their harpoons and nets. They then moved forward upriver against the current and caught big fish that wriggled in their hands. They threw them onto the river bank where others collected them.

Among the few people left on the bank were the two tam-tam players and me. When I took my flute out of my pocket and began to blow, they smiled and motioned to me to come and play with them. They must have noticed I had trouble with my eyes because I was walking very slowly. If the sun was too bright, they streamed. Or worse, they irritated me and I rubbed them until they burned.

The musicians welcomed me.

‘Hello, my boy, how are you?’

‘Fine, thank you.’

‘I’m Badjo, and he’s Seriba. What’s your name?’

‘Amadou.’

‘You must be the son of the master bricklayer?’

‘Yes.’

‘My children go to the same school as you. They often talk about a boy who has a problem with his eyes and plays the flute or the harmonica at break. Is that you?’

‘Yes, it’s me.’

Then they explained that musicians were one big family and that they were very pleased to have me with them.

‘Play what you play best and we’ll accompany you,’ they said.

When I began to play, they followed me on their tam-tams. My lips grew tired of pressing the mouth of my flute for so long. It was the first time I’d played with real musicians. They encouraged me and I gave it my all. We played for about an hour. Then they suggested I had a rest, and they did some real tam-tam drumming. I liked it so much that I began to dance. Over the music, people called out my name to urge me on. And so we livened up the fishing festival as the heat of the afternoon cooled.

People started coming out of the water and assessing their catch, both in terms of quantity and quality. Badjo, Seriba and myself were in for a wonderful surprise. The fishermen divided the catch into three equal piles, and gave one to us. And my two new friends in turn gave me a fish from their share. Later when my friends came out of the water to fetch me and take me home, they were astonished at the amount of fish I had. I had more than they had got by fishing, and a voice inside me said, ‘Amadou, your illness prevented you from going into the water. But your music got you more fish.’

When I got home, my mother couldn’t believe her eyes. She hugged me tight. My sisters cried with joy. I was very moved, so happy and proud. They all asked me what I had done to get so many fish. I told them about Badjo, Seriba and our musical show. My mother, who knew Badjo’s wife, went over to thank them for their generosity on behalf of our whole family. This kind of little courteous gesture is very much part of Malian social custom. She came back with compliments about me from Badjo himself. I’d never heard such praise from anyone. My father also realised something that day. He was very proud of me too and clasped me to him in his big bricklayer’s arms. I think that was the day I began to hope I might earn my living as a musician. I didn’t take it for granted, however, because that first concert made me realise that I’d have to work very hard to become the professional I dreamed of being. But I was burning with desire and that gave me the strength I needed.

 

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Amadou and Mariam

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia  met at an institute for young blind people in Bamako, Mali, and fell in love both musically and romantically. Following several years of performing and releasing cassettes in the their native West Africa, they went on to become stars of the international stage with a string of best selling albums including Dimanche à Bamako and Welcome to Mali. Their album 1990-1995: The Best of the African Years is a compilation of the music they recorded in Abidjan in the early years of their career.

Book: Away From the Light of Day

Ann Wright

Ann Wright has translated fourteen books from Spanish and French including Motorcycle Diaries, The Fragrance of Guava and I, Rigoberta Menchu. She is an active human rights worker and lectures on the theory and practice of civilian protection. She lives in London.

Books: The Train of Ice and Fire, Away From the Light of Day, Because Cuba is You

Idrissa Keïta

Idrissa Keïta was born in 1960 in Bamako, Mali. He is a writer, illustrator and musician. He has published several children’s books in French and two collections of poetry in German.

Book: Away From the Light of Day

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