Mieruba- ML

We are an independent record label and a music production house, dedicated to the traditional and contemporary music of Mali. We record, edit, package and distribute original music by Malian artists. Mieruba was established in the ancient city of Ségou in 2007 and we are still based here.

As an independent label, we make original music productions available to the general public under our own brand name, be they audio recordings or video clips. We do this, because we consider it our responsibility to preserve and promote Mali’s rich cultural and musical heritage and make new artistic discoveries. Between 2010 and 2018, Mieruba issued a series of eight albums, as part of its project The Lost Maestros. Almost all of the music was recorded here in Ségou. We are running a number of projects, alongside The Lost Maestros; we will present these shortly. Mali, our country, has earned worldwide fame for its art, especially its high-quality musical productions. We are considered Africa’s premier musical exporter. But in spite of all this artistic wealth, most of Mali’s artists release their work on labels outside the country. This is the main reason why we found it necessary to create a label here and call it Mieruba.

At the origin of it all was our desire to create high-quality work in close collaboration with the artists themselves. And it this passion that continues to fuel everything we do. All of us, whether it is the label’s founder, the paid and unpaid workers, the interns and everyone else who works with us in the production and distribution – we all get our energy from this love for music. This is what propels us forward. Our mission really is to put front and centre the kind of music that often gets ignored by the mainstream. In this sense, we are part of a counterculture, standing firm against the kind of musical standardisation you can hear all around you. Through its musical productions, Mieruba helps to safeguard musical diversity and promote musical democracy. We want to become the passageway, taking the music from the realm of unpaid craftsmanship, through emergence and into the professional sphere.

Mieruba- ML’s tracks

• Farafina Foli Waati/ Music Time Bambara by Mieruba- ML