Elegant chanteuse with delicate voice

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Singapore

Hundreds of people swarmed in front of the main stage at Fort Canning Park to see the next performer of the World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival (WOMAD) Singapore 2002.

Malian singer/songwriter Rokia Traore then came on stage, bringing a guitar and a traditional Mali percussion instrument. She was accompanied by a band that played traditional Malian instruments.

As soon as she played the guitar, opened her mouth and sung, the whole scene shifted amazingly. Her hauntingly beautiful and delicate voice moved the audience to a recollection of past events and feelings for the audience.

Whether it was upbeat or mellow, the melodious contemporary Malian music she presented produced such pure and passionate sound that it evoked a mixture of emotional sensations within you.

And whatever she sang about, we understood. The message was loud and clear.

Traore, 28, is that good. No wonder with only two albums, she is all the rage in the world music scene and is loved by both international audiences and critics.

In person, she is nice and also funny as she often teases her band members and even makes fun of herself.

"You're from Indonesia? I know Anggun, we worked once or twice for charity concerts. But I didn't know she was an Indonesian. She's nice," Traore said, referring to the Indonesian singer who is now based in France.

Speaking with a French accent, with an occasional pause to find the right English word, she articulately shared the story of her country, her early career and her music.

A member of the Bamanan ethnic group, Traore descends from the noble warriors of the Traore clan in the West African country which is known for its griots jalis (oral historians).

"The wrong image that has been projected about Mali is that we're always sad. It's always about problems and problems. Yes, we're poor but we're happy people. We're happy to live and sometimes we don't realize that we're poor," she said.

Interest in music and singing grew at an early age, as she played beside the famed River Niger that bisects her hometown of Bamako.

She spent part of her youth in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and France, following her father's diplomatic postings.

In many parts of West Africa, professional musicians are often from a certain lowly caste, but Traore's family did not observe the restriction so strictly. Therefore, she was able to perform since she was young despite coming from a privileged background.

The breakthrough in her musical career came in 1997 when she met Northern Mali guitarist/singer Ali Farka Touri, during the period when she received the Radio France Internationale prize as African Discovery.

A year later, Traore released her much-praised debut album Mouneissa, which sold over 40,000 copies in Europe.

While other Malian musicians have fallen back on Western instruments to back traditional vocals, Traore confidently does the opposite.

She showcases traditional instruments such as: balafon (wooden xylophone), kora (a highly resonant harp-like instrument with 21- 25 strings), ngoni (lute) and an occasional electrified bass, plus the guitar and percussion.

"Despite my exposure to multicultural experiences, I've always got in touch with traditional Malian music as my parents played it all the time," said Traore, whose original career choice was social sciences.

"My music is not really traditional or Western. It's something in between."

The second album came in 2000, which, strangely, is entitled Wanita, meaning woman in Indonesian and Malay.

"Funny, because wanita is not a Malian word. It's an imaginary word for me. It's like an internal voice which tells you to do something. It tells you to try to do it, giving you the courage to be able to get to the top of tallest tree or mountain," she said.

"It was only a year ago when I was interviewed by a Malaysian journalist that I knew that it also meant woman."

While it was purely coincidental, it is not completely inappropriate as Traore's lyrics also speak the hearts and minds of modern African women making her a role model among many young Mali women.

"Malian people are very tolerant. But often for women, it's not easy to break away from tradition. You have to obey men, you just can't say no and people will not help you. There are though, women who have become ministers and taken other important jobs.

"But there are still other women who can't go to school. There are also women who are happy to let men do anything. The most important thing is to know that a Malian woman can have a choice. To have a dream is possible. Freedom is possible. I may have grown up between Mali and abroad but all my family is Malian. If it's possible for me, it's possible for anyone," she said.

With another album in the making, it is likely that Traore will continue to mesmerize audiences all over the world with her delicate and infectious rhythms and charming stage act.

The most important thing for her, however, is spreading the message of humanity.

"There's an aggressive individualism in the world; also in Mali. Many people now just take other people around them for granted because they have forgotten they're nothing without others. That's a mistake. We have to communicate. If you have an awareness about the importance of life and within that your life as an individual, you can avoid the violence and killing," she said.