Fatou

Tall, superbly poised and elegant, with an iridescent smile, this sometime star of African film draws elements of jazz and funk into an exquisitely sparse contemporary folk sound - refracting the rocking rhythms and plaintive melodies of her ancestral Wassoulou tradition through an instinctive pop sensibility. At the centre is her warm, affecting voice, spare, rhythmical guitar and gorgeously melodic songs that draw powerfully on her often troubled experiences. Raised in Mali, now based in Paris, Fatou's life fought traditional parental opposition to her artistic ambitions and general cultural prejudice. Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate, Herbie Hancock and John Paul Jones are just a few of the notables who have fallen for Fatou's effortless charm, as her presence has lit up shows by Africa Express, AfroCubism and Hancock's 'Imagine' project. Yet her debut is almost entirely her own work: self-composed and arranged, with her own backing vocals and percussion. It breathes with natural warmth, confidence and spontaneity.