Boubacar Traoré

In the early years of Mali's independence, 20-year-old Boubacar Traoré picked up an electric guitar and shaped the sound of the young state. But with the military coup in 1968, his songs were banned from the radio and Traoré had to support his family as a farmer and small trader. In the late 1980s, however, his comeback was abruptly interrupted once again by the death of his wife. Traoré went to Paris and made a living as a construction worker. Finally, in 1990, he re-emerged as a musician and recorded six albums in short intervals. Very soon, Vincent Bucher's harmonica became the sonic alter ego of Traoré's voice and guitar playing. Since the turn of the millennium at the latest, he has been celebrated as one of the great fathers and ambassadors of modern Mandingo music, combining characteristic playing techniques and ideas from West Africa with the philosophy of the blues from the southern United States.