Khaira Arby on Scene TV5Monde Lafayette
Khaira Arby on Scene TV5Monde Lafayette
Khaira Arby and her band performed on April 27 at Festival International de Louisiane, on the Scene TV5Monde Lafayette ("Scene" is French for "Stage," and the Lafayette stage is sponsored by international Francophone broadcasting company TV5Monde).
Khaira Arby Sings
Khaira Arby, who is from Abaradjou, a tiny Saharan town in Mali, North of Timbuktu, is called "The Nightingale of the North" by her fans at home.
Khaira Arby's Bass Player
Shown here is the bass player for Khaira Arby's band, performing at Festival International de Louisiane, 2012. Though they play on modern instruments, Arby's rhythm section churns out deeply-rooted African beats, to tremendous effect. The young men who make up her whole band are incredibly talented.
Khaira Arby Singing and Dancing
Khaira Arby is a very physical singer, often dancing, clapping, and gesturing her way through her songs, which is great fun to watch. She was in fine form for her Saturday set at Festival International de Louisiane 2012; truly a joy to watch.
Khaira Arby Singing
Due to the current political situation in Mali, where Khaira Arby and her entire band lives, there was some concern that they might not make it to the United States for the April/May 2012 tour that included Festival International de Louisiane. A photo was posted on Khaira Arby's official facebook page a couple of nights before the show, though, that showed the band in an airport, having landed in the States, and fans all over breathed a sigh of relief.
Khaira Arby
Khaira Arby is of mixed ethnic background: her father is Berber and her mother is Songhai. She speaks several languages, and incorporates both of her parents' traditional music and languages (among others) to create her own vibrant sound, which is ultimately a real cross-section of Northern Malian traditions and modern elements.
Khaira Arby Performing a Song
Khaira Arby's music is usually described in the West as desert blues, a sort of borderless genre title that implies the inclusion of some traditional Saharan sounds with modern American blues, rock, and R&B elements. Arby's cousin, Ali Farka Toure, was a progenitor of the "genre" (such as it is), and Tinariwen and Bombino are also often mentioned in discussions of the sound.
Khaira Arby's Drummer
Khaira Arby's drummer played on a standard Western rock drum kit at Festival International, but he played it differently than a Western drummer might. Instead of using the whole kit at all times, he honed in to just a few drums at a time, and let loose powerful polyrhythms, with just an occasional ride around the whole set. It was fun to watch and provided a great rhythmic layer to the music.
Khaira Arby
Khaira Arby is well-known and beloved in her home country of Mali. She's been awarded several honorary titles, including Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mali, which was bestowed upon her in 2006.
Abdramane Toure Performs With Khaira Arby's Band
2012 was the first year that Khaira Arby performed at Festival International de Louisiane, but she has performed at many other prestigious festivals worldwide, including Mali's own Festival in the Desert, NYC's globalFEST, and Albuquerque's Globalquerque.
Bombino's Band Watches Khaira Arby's Set
Khaira Arby's band is small -- just three instrumentalists -- but you'd never know it from their large, lively sound. This is in no small part due to the brilliant guitar work of the young Abdramane Toure, known as The Kid from Timbuktu. Somewhere in the realm of 20 years old as of Festival International 2012, where this picture was taken, Toure is a young musician to watch, to be sure. He has an uncanny ability to pull a sound out of his guitar that is both tonally warm and melodically dark at the same time, which couldn't be more perfect for the desert blues that he performs.
Khaira Arby Performing
One of my favorite things about music festivals, as opposed to single-band concerts, is that they provide an opportunity for artists to see and interact with each other. The road is a lonely place, and it's fun to meet new friends and catch up with those from back home. Pictured in this photograph are Ibrahim Atchinguil Emoud and Kildjate Moussa Albade, band members of fellow desert blues artist Bombino, who also performed at Festival International 2012, watching and dancing while Khaira Arby's band did their thing.
It's great fun to watch musicians enjoying each other's music as much as we, the fans, do.
The set that Khaira Arby performed on Friday, April 27 at Festival International de Louisiane was the first set that I saw live. I knew to expect great things, but I was still beyond impressed. Arby is an elegant, commanding performer with a tremendous voice who knows just how to win the love of an audience. Her band is sleek and powerful, and add a warmth and depth to her diverse sound. If you ever have the chance to see her live, do not miss it.
Khaira Arby and her band performed on April 27 at Festival International de Louisiane, on the Scene TV5Monde Lafayette ("Scene" is French for "Stage," and the Lafayette stage is sponsored by international Francophone broadcasting company TV5Monde).
Khaira Arby Sings
Khaira Arby, who is from Abaradjou, a tiny Saharan town in Mali, North of Timbuktu, is called "The Nightingale of the North" by her fans at home.
Khaira Arby's Bass Player
Shown here is the bass player for Khaira Arby's band, performing at Festival International de Louisiane, 2012. Though they play on modern instruments, Arby's rhythm section churns out deeply-rooted African beats, to tremendous effect. The young men who make up her whole band are incredibly talented.
Khaira Arby Singing and Dancing
Khaira Arby is a very physical singer, often dancing, clapping, and gesturing her way through her songs, which is great fun to watch. She was in fine form for her Saturday set at Festival International de Louisiane 2012; truly a joy to watch.
Khaira Arby Singing
Due to the current political situation in Mali, where Khaira Arby and her entire band lives, there was some concern that they might not make it to the United States for the April/May 2012 tour that included Festival International de Louisiane. A photo was posted on Khaira Arby's official facebook page a couple of nights before the show, though, that showed the band in an airport, having landed in the States, and fans all over breathed a sigh of relief.
Khaira Arby
Khaira Arby is of mixed ethnic background: her father is Berber and her mother is Songhai. She speaks several languages, and incorporates both of her parents' traditional music and languages (among others) to create her own vibrant sound, which is ultimately a real cross-section of Northern Malian traditions and modern elements.
Khaira Arby Performing a Song
Khaira Arby's music is usually described in the West as desert blues, a sort of borderless genre title that implies the inclusion of some traditional Saharan sounds with modern American blues, rock, and R&B elements. Arby's cousin, Ali Farka Toure, was a progenitor of the "genre" (such as it is), and Tinariwen and Bombino are also often mentioned in discussions of the sound.
Khaira Arby's Drummer
Khaira Arby's drummer played on a standard Western rock drum kit at Festival International, but he played it differently than a Western drummer might. Instead of using the whole kit at all times, he honed in to just a few drums at a time, and let loose powerful polyrhythms, with just an occasional ride around the whole set. It was fun to watch and provided a great rhythmic layer to the music.
Khaira Arby
Khaira Arby is well-known and beloved in her home country of Mali. She's been awarded several honorary titles, including Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mali, which was bestowed upon her in 2006.
Abdramane Toure Performs With Khaira Arby's Band
2012 was the first year that Khaira Arby performed at Festival International de Louisiane, but she has performed at many other prestigious festivals worldwide, including Mali's own Festival in the Desert, NYC's globalFEST, and Albuquerque's Globalquerque.
Bombino's Band Watches Khaira Arby's Set
Khaira Arby's band is small -- just three instrumentalists -- but you'd never know it from their large, lively sound. This is in no small part due to the brilliant guitar work of the young Abdramane Toure, known as The Kid from Timbuktu. Somewhere in the realm of 20 years old as of Festival International 2012, where this picture was taken, Toure is a young musician to watch, to be sure. He has an uncanny ability to pull a sound out of his guitar that is both tonally warm and melodically dark at the same time, which couldn't be more perfect for the desert blues that he performs.
Khaira Arby Performing
One of my favorite things about music festivals, as opposed to single-band concerts, is that they provide an opportunity for artists to see and interact with each other. The road is a lonely place, and it's fun to meet new friends and catch up with those from back home. Pictured in this photograph are Ibrahim Atchinguil Emoud and Kildjate Moussa Albade, band members of fellow desert blues artist Bombino, who also performed at Festival International 2012, watching and dancing while Khaira Arby's band did their thing.
It's great fun to watch musicians enjoying each other's music as much as we, the fans, do.
The set that Khaira Arby performed on Friday, April 27 at Festival International de Louisiane was the first set that I saw live. I knew to expect great things, but I was still beyond impressed. Arby is an elegant, commanding performer with a tremendous voice who knows just how to win the love of an audience. Her band is sleek and powerful, and add a warmth and depth to her diverse sound. If you ever have the chance to see her live, do not miss it.
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