Artist Discovery: “That new singer/musician/band I heard today and instantly liked!”

[sachinchavan 15865]

Haven’t this happened to you often? Especially with streaming apps and their tailored suggestions, we keep hitting upon artists (new or old) that we weren’t aware of before. And when one of them instantly appeals to us, we search more on that artist and listen to more of them.

And being the social creatures we humans are, we also feel like telling others about this artist and his/her/their work.

This is the thread where you do that. You can share as much as you feel like about the artist and their music, including your subjective impressions. But at a bare minimum please do provide a link (preferably YouTube or Spotify as both can be freely accessed) to a song/album of theirs so other FMs can quickly sample their work.

(Note: They don’t have to be new (debutant) or unheard artists. They can be from a previous era or even masters/legends as long as they are new to you).

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Let me start with the artist I heard this morning and inspired the idea of this thread.

Oumou Sangaré​

From write-up by Thom Jurek on Allmusic.com:

“Oumou Sangaré is an internationally renowned and award-winning singer, composer, business pioneer, and activist who champions women's rights in her native Mali and throughout Africa. Sangaré's style is wassalou, a popular musical genre derived from folk traditions in the rural southwestern part of the country. She's earned acclaim for her many recording landmarks, from her 1989 debut Moussolou, with its traditional wassalou sound, to 1996's Worotan, which featured a horn section arranged by funk legend Pee Wee Ellis, to 2009's Seya, which won Sangaré the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Her 2017 release, Mogoya, featured a collaboration with iconic Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen and was followed in 2022 by the typically eclectic Timbuktu.”

And this is the first song I heard of hers and got hooked:

(This is a slow ballad. The other songs in the album are peppier, backed by a lovely band/chorus and African drums)

Interesting tidbit: Oumou is also an entrepreneur who has her own hotel. She has even launched a car (yes!) named ‘Oum Sang’! Further digging reveals that she is reverred by her followers as ‘Maman (Mom) Oumou’.

 

[arj]

Nice thread..ts been ages since I have even tried to rediscover new music as I am guilty of not having heard 80% of what I have already. but yes at one time was a lot more adventurous.

2 artists come to mind.

1 Pink Martini-I heard the same at @IndianEars place maybe a decade ago and loved it so much he gifted me a recording of the same. I did end up owning a lot of their album on digital and also 1 on vinyl and still love the classic pan European and somewhat pan world fusion of music
2 Madeleine Peyroux- her husky/smokey voice with an accent and the way she sings it grabs you by the ear,,