In Mali, where Fatoumata Diawara was raised, it is common for women to sing, but much rarer for women to play an instrument. As a result, Fatoumata—who is one of the first, if not the first woman guitarist in all of Mali—has developed a self-taught, intuitive guitar playing style that is entirely her own. “This way of playing, it's me,” says Fatoumata. “It represents my fight as a musician, as an African, and as a lady on stage.” In this episode of Object of Sound, Fatoumata talks to Hanif about how she discovered her calling as a musician, and the exciting ways that she is fusing the traditional music of her homeland with Western influences on her third studio album, out next year. Hanif closes the episode with a selection of blues and folk music from Mali. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode, head over to radio.sonos.com.

Music In This Week’s Episode:

Kalan - Fatoumata Diawara

Bassemory - Mamou Sidibé

Lalla - Tinariwen

Kuma - Salif Keita

Sabali - Amadou & Mariam

Sarama - Oumou Sangaré

Tongo Barra - Vieux Farka Touré, Khruangbin