It was still early in the year when we learned of the passing of Amadou Bagayoko, one of the eponymous halves of the internationally beloved Bamakoan duo Amadou & Mariam, alongside wife and creative collaborator, Mariam Doumbia. The duo’s final album, L’amour à la folie, was already all but complete; it was released on 24 October, Amadou’s 71st birthday.
It’s been more than 20 years since their Manu Chao-produced international breakthrough Dimanche à Bamako and nearly 50 years since the duo’s first recordings as part of the Bamako Institute for Young Blind People’s Éclipse Orchestra, led by Idrissa Soumaoro. Listening to L’amour à la folie makes clear how much the duo’s sound and reputation have grown over the last few decades.
Amadou & Mariam begin by making us comfortable with “Bienvenue à la maison”, a song about love and troubles with a hospitable refrain: “Bienvenue, bienvenue à la maison / Bon séjour, bon séjour à la maison.” Welcome home; have a good stay. Amadou takes the lead on vocals and guitar; when Mariam joins in on each chorus, the warmth grows exponentially, their whole as a pair always greater than the sum of its parts.
Album producer Pierre Juarez, who has worked with Fatoumata Diawara, -M-, Franz Ferdinand, and many others, gives them ample room here, as across the album, to do what they do best and explore what they haven’t tried yet. Largely unplugged, it’s an introduction that calls back to their intimate first hit, “Je pense à toi”, with greater maturity and radiance.
Classic though this first track is, innovation comes quickly, often with guests. Kinshasan rumba star Fally Ipupa joins the duo for “Sonfo”, where stylishly Auto-Tuned vocals swirl over a skeletal dembow beat. London-based, tropics-inspired producer Busy Twist has his hands in a few of the record’s most interesting cuts. In “Nakan”, he sculpts the duo into dancefloor-ready condition with some hefty (for Amadou & Mariam, at least) electronic effects and the addition of more acoustic strings inspired by the diversity of Malian music.
He adds synthesized bounce and other buoyant production touches to “La vie est belle”, a surprisingly airy addition to the Amadou & Mariam oeuvre. “Kɛlɛ kɔ”, his third contribution, layers double and treble rhythms with relish. Even the return of Manu Chao as composer on “Mogolu” does not mean a regressive throwback; instead, it yields urgent beats, subtle yet serious guitar shredding, and strong human rights messaging.
The best is saved for a run of four songs near the end. “Saabujugu” opens with Amadou’s guitar and the two central voices, then quickly expands outward with funk-rock licks and bright steelpan sounds. “Furu” is another archetypal Amadou & Mariam song, but one with a potent edge. “On veut la paix” gives neon accents to midtempo grooves. Kora opens and weaves throughout “Tanu” alongside Amadou & Mariam’s serene verses. There is a simplicity to the arrangements here that brings the familiar and novel together in ways that feel fresh and keep the spotlight on the duo and their multilingual lyrics.
Though not originally intended as a tribute, L’amour à la folie makes for a good one. It lifts much of what Amadou & Mariam have always done best together and moves it forward. It shows their versatility and capacity for change, but it also stands as a testament to their creative and personal chemistry. These are performers whose music has always been able to brighten a room. On their last album together in this lifetime, that truth holds fast.