Maryam Mursal
Encyclopedia
Maryam Mursal (born January 1, 1950) is a Somali
composer and vocalist.
in a Muslim
family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke with tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu
. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues
, soul
, Somali
and Arabic influences, and known as Somali jazz, became popular across the country. Performing primarily solo, she also collaborated with Waaberi
, a 300-member music and dance troupe associated with the Somali National Theatre. Later, after having criticized Somalia's then ruling military government, she was banned from singing for two years, and made her living driving a taxi.
During the subsequent civil war in her homeland, Mursal and her five children moved to neighboring Djibouti
, where she found asylum in the Danish embassy. It was this odyssey that provided the germ of her solo recording The Journey, with guitar
s, sequencer
s and back-up vocals from Peter Gabriel
.
Mursal still lives abroad, now residing in Denmark
. She has toured Europe
with Waaberi
and appeared with Nina Simone
. Her work has been produced by Peter Gabriel's Real World
record label.
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
composer and vocalist.
Biography
Mursal grew up in SomaliaSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
in a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke with tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, Somali
Music of Somalia
The music of Somalia refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Somalia.-Overview:Somalia has a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the...
and Arabic influences, and known as Somali jazz, became popular across the country. Performing primarily solo, she also collaborated with Waaberi
Waaberi
-History:The troupe was established by members of the Radio Artists Association. It was supported by the Somali government as part of the Somali National Theater, and made tours throughout several countries in Africa, including Egypt and Sudan. After a coup in 1969, the ensemble was renamed...
, a 300-member music and dance troupe associated with the Somali National Theatre. Later, after having criticized Somalia's then ruling military government, she was banned from singing for two years, and made her living driving a taxi.
During the subsequent civil war in her homeland, Mursal and her five children moved to neighboring Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, where she found asylum in the Danish embassy. It was this odyssey that provided the germ of her solo recording The Journey, with guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, sequencer
Sequencer
Sequencer may refer to:Arts and Entertainment* Sequencer , 1976* Sequencer , 1996Technology* DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sample...
s and back-up vocals from Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
.
Mursal still lives abroad, now residing in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. She has toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Waaberi
Waaberi
-History:The troupe was established by members of the Radio Artists Association. It was supported by the Somali government as part of the Somali National Theater, and made tours throughout several countries in Africa, including Egypt and Sudan. After a coup in 1969, the ensemble was renamed...
and appeared with Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
. Her work has been produced by Peter Gabriel's Real World
Real World Records
Real World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...
record label.
Quotes
- "Traditional music is very important to me but I was also listening to people like Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, everything."
- "We as artists are responsible if something wrong is taking place in our society. It's very important for us to speak up, even though we may have to do it with a double tongue. We have to speak out for our people."
- "I was always the first woman. I was the first woman singing Somali jazz, I was the first star, and I was the first to drive a taxi! I was the first to drive a lorry, and now I'm the first woman from Somalia to have an international record."