Music
feature: afro-soul musician thaïs diarra makes musical kaleidoscope of reggae, west african traditional sounds, beats and neo-soul
Thaïs Diarra is a Swiss writer, composer, and musician who is making powerful, multi-lingual Afrosoul music with all acoustic instruments and african traditional instruments, like the kora and balafon. In 2002, Diarra traveled back to the countries of her heritage Mali and Senegal (now her second home), which is where she met rapper Didier Awadi and was invited to join the PBS Radical group in 2004. The next year, Diarra met Swiss musician and producer Fred Hirchy (Tumi Molekane, Fredy Massamba), her frequent collaborator (producer and co-composer of her second album “DANAYA”).
“DANAYA” is a marvelous kaleidoscope of reggae, West African traditional sounds, soul, and beats, and American neo-soul. It’s bright-sounding, rambunctious, and full of pride. Lyrically, Diarra speaks about hope, self-confidence, womanhood, and sisterhood—in English, French, Wolof, and Bambara, nonetheless. “DANAYA” is feel-good listen, so check it out down below!
Like what you hear? Thaïs Diarra is competing for a spot in this year’s Battle of the Bands Paris, you can vote for her here.
By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor
thaisdiarra.bandcamp.com
thaisdiarra.com
*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.
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