Lysistrata Solved That: Khaira Arby and "Goumou"

Khaira Arby brings us today's song, called Goumou. From the northern deserts of Mali who resided in Timbuktu and had to flee after the fundamentalist Islamic takeover of that city. Often called the Queen of Desert Rock, she is a cousin to the great Ali Farka Touré. She uses a varied assortment of instrumentation, such as electric guitar, calabash, traditional violin, acoustic guitar and drumming, and she sings in languages such as Sonrai, Arabic and Tamashek. She is the only singer in her family, and started singing when she was eleven years old. Before working with her own band, she performed with the Troupe du Cercle de Tomboctou and later the Troupe Regionale de Gao. Goumou is from her 2013 release Timbuktu Tarab. The song, vocalized in Sonrai, asks why men go to war when the women are so beautiful.