Amadou & Mariam announce live dates

African superstars AMADOU & MARIAM have confirmed an appearance with Africa Express at KOKO on Wednesday 22nd October, as part of the BBC Electric Proms festival. The Malian duo have taken part in each episode of Africa Express, which has previously staged shows at Brixton, Glastonbury and Liverpool, and taken Western artists to Mali and the Congo.

They will also appear at a special edition of Africa Express as the climax of this year's Felebration festival in Lagos the previous Saturday 18th October. The line-up for London will not be announced in advance, but earlier events have featured Franz Ferdinand, Baaba Maal, Reverend & The Makers, Damon Albarn, Hard-Fi and Tony Allen. For more information and to get tickets log onto www.bbc.co.uk/electricproms

Following the show at Koko, Amadou & Mariam will perform as part of the 'Africa Now'event, at London's Barbican Centre on Thursday 23rd October. The event will also feature appearances from Baaba Maal, Souad Massi, Oumou Sangare and Rachid Taha. Tickets are available from the Barbican Box Office: 0845 120 7550 www.barbican.org.uk

Amadou & Mariam release their new album, 'Welcome to Mali' through Because Music on 17th November. The new album features Damon Albarn as guest producer on the opening track, plus special guest appearances by Keziah Jones, 'M', Tiken Jah Fakoli, Toumani Diabate and Juan Rozoff. The album was recorded over the past twelve months in Bamako, Dakar, Paris and London and was produced by their long-time manager and artistic director Marc-Antoine Moreau and Lauren Jais who, together with Manu Chao, were co-producers of 'Dimanche à Bamako'.

'Welcome to Mali' expands their horizons and yet remains true to their core sound, putting the spotlight firmly back on their unique mix of sweet melodies and funky rhythms, driven by Amadou's bluesy guitar and the duo's compelling voices.
But the album's opening track, and first single, 'Sabali', which will be released digitally on the 27th October, is the couple as you've never heard them before, an extraordinary mix of Albarn's ethereal keyboards, Mariam's haunting voice and a timeless Africa-goes-global vibe.

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