Malian superstar Fatoumata Diawara has enlisted a primo roll-call of acclaimed female artists of African origins or descent to collaborate with her on a new song, ‘Ambè’ (check out the video below).

The word ambè means ‘altogether’ in Bamana, and the track's core message reinforces the importance of harmony and togetherness in difficult and challenging times. It therefore seemed a no-brainer for Diawara to rustle up some like-minded sisters for this standalone project. 

Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, China Moses, Inna Modja, Somi, Mayra Andrade, Thandiswa Mazwai and Terri Lyne Carrington were subsequently enlisted and all contribute vocals and lyrics to a verse of the song, recorded remotely during the first lockdown before being mixed together.

According to Diawara: "The idea for the song came to me during the first lockdown. Countries were closing their borders because of the pandemic and I was very afraid. I was like ‘what should I do? what can I do? could we do something together?’... COVID reminds us that we are all one and that we should fight for love instead of fighting over our differences. I didn't want to write and record it alone, so I called out to women, my sisters. I could have contacted over 100 people and the song could’ve been one or two hours long. Obviously, that’s not possible nowadays, so I opted for eight girls and it is already amazing to me. I would love for others to join in, perhaps 1000 women and we will keep singing to remind people that we are all one and this mentality will save future generations."