| Baaba Maal's African World | |
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Paula: What is the main thing you would like to get across with your music to non-African audiences about African music?
Baaba Maal: I want people to discover all the elements that are in African music. A lot of people think it is just the traditional, old-fashioned music, but I want people to know it is also alive. Every time new elements come into it, we have more and more African music played in a unique way because of the influences from the West but also mixed with tradition. At the same time, I want to make people interested in Africa, not just to look at it like a continent with a lot of problems. So, I think the music is a kind of reference to show the new generation who want to make some changes and also show themselves to the rest of the World. Paula: Has language ever been a barrier to your audiences, or do you find that music tends to be very universal? Baaba Maal: I think music is very universal. When you don't understand the language you can feel the messages in the music. The language is also very important because if you want to change the language, you change the soul and spirit of the song. When people go to music like African music, I think people want to discover this music in the right sense; how it is really. Paula: What do you like the most about performing live? Baaba Maal: I like to perform everywhere. In some countries, I really feel the audience is really interested to look at our shows, to discover and to see what we are doing, where we come from, what instruments we use.
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