ADAMA DICKO – Album JamJam-Release Konzert
Adama Dicko is a musician, an artist living in Vienna, Austria. His works draw influence from his childhood in remote Burkina Faso, his exuberant youth wandering across West Africa, and his life today in cosmopolitan Europe to craft deeply powerful stories about friendship, rebellion, learning, loss and hope in our world today.
Words and Music: Adama Dicko
Video Credits: Stefanie Platen, Charlie Fritschner
We’re thrilled you’re here and hope you decide to support JAMJAM. Your contribution means the world to this project — we’ll use the funds to offset some of our costs of production and promotion, and to seed an initial pressing of vinyls for your hi-fi enjoyment!
As you consider your level of support, here’s a bit about Adama, his journeys, and how he came to bring us his songs and stories:
Adama Dicko was born 1986 in the Sahel region of West Africa. He originates from a nomadic family, the Fulanis, and his parents settled in the northern part of Burkina Faso, former Upper Volta, in a town called Djibo, near the Malian border. At age seven, he began attending a madrassa, a koranic school, just as every Fulani boy, but he left school when he was 14. Although his family wanted him to stay and learn in a more formal way, he felt that education is not something that can be obtained only in a particular school. So he left his hometown and walked for two days until he arrived in a new city, where he stayed with people of the Mossi tribe. After working different jobs and learning the language and culture of the Mossi, Adama moved to a town of the Bambara tribe, to learn their culture.
It was with the Bambara that Adama discovered his passion for the n’goni instrument, though he was well aware his family would never allow him to make music professionally. In 2005, he traveled out of Burkina Faso for the first time. On his way to Ivory Coast, he passed through Accra, the capital of Ghana. There, again, he met Bambara musicians. Following an inner call, Adama dropped his plans to leave for Ivory Coast, stayed with those musicians and learned how to build and play the n’goni. He had several teachers – Arouna Diarra, Yacouba Diarra and Samba Diarra. After practicing many n’goni playing techniques, it was time to learn his own way of playing the instrument because he was not a griot, a traditional West African historian, storyteller, musician and poet, who keeps the traditional playing styles. And so Adama created his own style between blues and reggae which allowed him to sing and talk about his journeys and experiences.
Traveling across West African revealed that life is more than being in the Sahel. But it was not until he left Africa, visited other continents, and traveled across Europe and the United States, that he formed a deeper perspective on what it means to be an African in the world of today.
In 2015, the wish grew to record his own album, featuring international musicians who accompanied him on his journey. In early 2016, Adama recorded his debut album “jam jam” featuring many great musicians from across the world. Adama considers this album a book, filled with stories, impressions and images, a book which offers itself to everyone with open ears and hearts. His music speaks to equality, injustice and how minorities are treated, how the realities of many young people are often neglected, about the life of women and the way they view the African continent. He tells us about all the things he has seen, experienced and gone through from an early age. This is Adama’s story.
Risiken und Herausforderungen
The good news is that the album is complete. We’ve recorded, mixed and mastered, and now we have to blast „JamJam“ out to the world. By supporting our project, you’re sure to receive some killer rewards, but the network we’re building counts more than anything. Without you and your support, „JamJam“ fades away and we’re left wondering, „what next?“ With your help, „JamJam“ becomes the first step on Adama’s long and prosperous artistic journey.
