Amadou And Mariam: Finding Mali In Harlem (video)

There’s not a lot in New York City that looks much like Bamako, the capital city of Mali, but there are pockets uptown where a West African might feel a little closer to home. With increasing numbers of immigrants to Harlem from countries like Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Gambia and beyond, jewelry shops sell the beautiful, bright gold twisted hoop earrings traditionally worn by Fulani women; men stride along the street wearing the elegant, flowing robes called grands boubous; and restaurants sell bissap, the sweet cold drink made from hibiscus flowers that’s beloved across the region.

One major gathering point for Africans and non-Africans alike in this neighborhood is The Shrine, a nightclub and restaurant whose clout belies its small size. So when Malian breakout superstars Amadou and Mariam happened to find themselves with an extra day in New York recently, we invited them up to The Shrine to sing a quick, unplugged set.

As it happens, we discovered that The Shrine was a familiar locale for this husband-and-wife team: They had just shot a video there earlier in the week. (Great minds think alike, we suppose.) But the intimate setting proved to be the perfect place for a stripped-down performance of the song “Wily Kataso,” from the pair’s new album, Folila. The album version features TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, but here, it was just their two powerful voices, Amadou’s blues-soaked guitar and an incredibly catchy melody that lit up The Shrine.

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