Fatoumata Diawara's "Ambè" underlines harmony and togetherness in the era of Covid

21 July 2021, 09:00 | Written by The Line of Best Fit

(News)

Composed during the first lockdown celebrated Malian singer/guitarist/songwriter/actress Fatoumata Diawara enlisted a collective of revered female musicians to collaborate on “Ambè”, inviting each musician to contribute vocals and lyrics to a verse on the song and the parts were recorded remotely before being mixed together.

'Ambè’ meaning ‘altogether’ in Bambara. The song underlines the importance of harmony and togetherness in difficult and challenging times, a theme that Diawara often explores in her work. The unique collaboration between female artists of African origin or descent sends a message of cooperation and a world without borders.

"Countries were closing their borders because of the pandemic and I was very afraid," explains Diawara. "I was like ‘what should I do? what can I do? could we do something together?’. I was very afraid and at the same time I felt a huge amount of hope. Hope for me has always come through my guitar and my voice. The first thing I did was to cry and that always makes me feel better. The second thing was to sing and put a smile back on my face. I then had the idea to write a song to remind us all that no matter what colour you are, which country you come from, if you’re rich or poor, a doctor or poor person on the street, we are all equal and all the same.COVID reminds us that we are all one and that we should fight for love instead of fighting over our differences."

Not wanting to record alone, Diawara reached out her potential collaborators: "I could have contacted over 100 people and the song could’ve been one or two hours long. Obviously, that’s not possible nowadays so I opted for eight girls and it is already amazing to me. I would love for others to join in, perhaps 1000 women and we will keep singing to remind people that we are all one and this mentality will save future generations.”