Ismaël Lô – Natt (1987)

Well, friends, here we are. It turns out life does not settle down, but gets crazier by the day. Yet music is central in my life, and I continue to digitize records for my radio show. When I can grab some time, I'll try to post them here.

I chose to reenter with this album from Ismaël Lô  because a reader, years ago, pleaded for it (and Xiif,  which shall follow soon). This is the third album Lô recorded after leaving Super Diamono, and it is a lush bridge between mbalax and the more global singer-songwriter style he evolved. 

While Natt was rereleased as a compilation CD in 2004, easily available for almost nothing at Discogs, I think the sound of this pristine LP is better. New link.

Happy Holidays!                         Enjoy!

Ismael Lô - Xalat (1984)

After leaving Super Diamono, Ismael Lô recorded a series of excellent albums that demonstrate his strength as a songwriter and arranger. They also exhibit both his prowess with mbalax, as well as his wonderful, soulful singing. Xalat is the first of those albums, and the cover photo reveals another unique aspect of Lô's contribution to Senegalese pop, one that augments the soulfulness: his harmonica.

Today's post reflects the breaking of a record-cleaning bottleneck that has limited my digitizing recently. This is a good way to resume.

Enjoy!

Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh - Tanante (1987)

Much as Foday Musa Suso introduced the griot and kora traditions to a broad U.S. audience in the mid- to late 80s, in the process also moving beyond tradition to experimentally apply the kora in other musical genres, Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh extended their virtuosities through the U.K. and beyond. This first record of their collaboration was recorded Konte's home in the Gambia, by the folks at the enterprising and eclectic Rogue Records label.

The six songs on this album are steeped in tradition, and the two koras and voices blend hypnotically. Kuyateh is from the Casamance region of Senegal, and he plays his own 23-string kora creation. On the beautiful song "Yeyengo," he plays solo, creating intricate rhythms while playing his dazzling melodies.

This recording sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom, which it more or less was, and so the sound is not as bright as it might have been in a studio. This is not meant as a criticism, for the music is brilliant and you can feel like you were there, crickets barely discernible in the mix.

Most of the songs on this record, as well as others from a second early recording, were rereleased a while back on CD by the Rogue Records descendant, Weekend Beatnik. I recommend you get Kairaba Jabi at the fRoots site here; it appears to be out-of-print in the U$. Perhaps the reissue also was remixed? You may also search for Jali Roll, the rollicking collaboration between these kora masters and 3 Mustaphas 3 and others.

Enjoy!

Super Diamono de Dakar - People (1987)

Recorded a short time after Ndaxami, this album from Super Diamono has a much more produced sound with more global ambitions. It opens with a reggae-imbued tribute to the people of Soweto, a fashion in African pop music during the waning years of apartheid, where Lamine Faye's guitar is impressive, as it is throughout the record. Ismael Lo has left the band at this point, leaving the lead vocals to the ascendant Omar Pene.

Unfortunately, on many of the songs on this album, the "world music" production submerges the strengths of the band, giving the first side a decidedly somber tone. That said, the sound quality of this production is gorgeous, with every instrument and voice exceptionally clear. Mbalax pokes through more successfully on the second side, but not enough to rescue it from world music banality. Except for the last cut, recorded live at a concert: Omar Pene and Lamine Faye rock.

Enjoy!

Super Jamono de Dakar - Ndaxami (1984)

Super Diamono is one of the great bands of Senegal, and this record comes from the fecund period when Omar Pene and Ismael Lo shared leads. I've always considered Diamono to be analogous to early Zaiko Langa Langa in the Congo, a band bursting with young energy, a little rough on the edges yet setting new standards.

I love this album; it is so full of soul. There is no information about the recording or musicians, on the record sleeve, but it sounds like a live studio recording. It is so refreshing to hear raw, brilliant music that was not processed for global consumers. Check the great underlying piano, Lo's harmonious harmonica, the percussion: Sweet!

Enjoy!

Baaba Maal et Dande Lenol - Wango (1987)

Moments after entering the Berkeley record store, on my way home from work, the clerk, who was familiar with my weekly Friday visits, said: "Check this out!" He put this record on his deck and filled the shop with Massamba Diop's tremendous tama. This was my introduction to Baaba Maal et Dande Lenol, so many years ago, and it opened a whole new avenue in my obsession.

Wango, simply put, is a masterpiece. Every song is exquisitely crafted and performed. Dande Lenol was incredibly tight on this perfectly recorded and mixed album, a definitive Sylla production. The rhythms are complex and urgent, and Maal's singing is sublime.

Two of the songs, "Laam Tooro" and "Loodo," are electrified versions of the well-loved acoustic versions on the earlier recorded, yet later globally released, Djam Leelii. Wango is a great way to start your week, as it has mine.

Enjoy!

Thione Seck - Le Pouvoir d'un Coeur Pur (1988)

Recorded in Paris with his band Raam Daan, this strong album from Thione Seck reprises songs from cassettes that had made him a household name in Senegal, following his divergence from Orchestre Baobab.

On this record Seck's majestic voice towers above complex, driving rhythms, while the horns and guitars weave an almost jazz-like improvisational thread through the mbalax, especially on "Yaye Boy." I prefer the B side of this record with it's two tremendous, urgent mbalax songs and the final, reggae-fied ballad. It is impossible to sit still, listening to it.

Enjoy!

Baaba Maal - Taara (1990)

Baaba Maal has moved well beyond the role of innovative musician on the world stage. Recently he was named Oxfam's Global Ambassador to bring global attention to the food crisis in Africa. He has a unique voice to lend to a cause, one that was consistently awesome through decades of many recordings. While I became increasingly dismayed by the homogenized, transglobal sound of his later records, not able to listen to Television at all, his early recordings still resonate with complex rhythms and an authentic vision.

Taara sits on the edge of Baaba's move towards global stardom, retaining the tough Dande Lenol sound of the wonderful preceding recording, Wango, while pointing towards the ever more electronic future. A typically strong Ibrahima Sylla production, Taara layers European horns and keyboards on the core guitar/percussion/voice that made Dande Lenol such a potent band. Massamba Diop's tama is killer, like always, but it is Baaba Maal's voice that sails above all and keeps it together.

Enjoy!

Thione Seck & Le Raam Daan - Yow (1990)

Although one of Senegal's most loved singers, Thione Seck has not been as internationally famous as compatriots Youssou N'dour or Baaba Maal, despite having several excellent albums released around the world. Seck first achieved widespread notice as vocalist for Orchestra Baobab, but by the '80s had set out on a solo career with his band Le Raam Daam. Unparalleled producer Ibrahima Sylla caught Seck for this 1983 set, rereleased on the Melodie label in 1990.

Thione Seck croons over first rate mbalax with jazzy guitars and torrid percussion, and this album, one of his earliest solo efforts, is excellent. The first five tracks are vibrant mbalax, while the last is a ballad that picks up the pace slightly towards the end.

Enjoy!

Idrissa Diop - Femme Noire (1987)

In the 1980s Paris was the place to be for talented musicians from the Francophone ex-colonies. As cassette piracy decimated musician incomes at home, as well as local music industries, Paris became a vibrant melting pot for musician refugees. Idrissa Diop left Senegal to seek his fortune there, and this album is one of his many achievements.

Diop chose the Senegalese rockers Xalam to back him on Femme Noire, as well as French electronic music wizard Jean-Phillipe Rykiel. This album was produced when Rykiel was involved on other projects with Xalam and Youssou N'Dour, and also on Salif Keita's seminal Soro album. Rykiel's hand is heavy on a few songs, which depending on my mood  has caused me to turn it off; but if I can overcome that urge, there is enough of Diop's percussion and singing to keep me interested. The straight percussion workouts "Worunana" and "Sahel" are breaths of fresh air that counterbalance the sometimes harsh urban edge on other tracks.

Femme Noire is a world away from Diop's roots recordings, reviewed in my last post, but it still is worth a listen.

Enjoy!

Review: Idrissa Diop & Cheikh Tidiane Tall - Diamonoye Tiopité

The newest of micro-labels rescuing early African popular music, from the "golden age" decades of the 60s and 70s, is Teranga Beat, and its first release is crucial. Diamonoye Tiopité chronicles a transformative period in Senegalese music, when mbalax arose from the shadows of the Afro-Cuban music that had dominated pop culture for many years. 

The vehicle for illustrating this music history is the early career of Idrissa Diop and the band SAHEL. This CD collects three selections from Diop's first solo record, 1969's Diouba, including the immensely popular "Yaye Boye" that became essential for every Senegalese band to cover. Four songs from SAHEL's epochal Bamba recording sessions follow, including two songs that did not make the record. These tracks, taken from the rescued master tape, are the highlight of this wonderful Teranga debut. The Cuban rhythms are deep, the sound lush, and the horns bright. The organ solos and guitar of band leader Cheikh Tidiane Tall: Inspired. "Bamba" inserts sabar drums and traditional rhythms, thus innovating the first mbalax hit, with its catchy Touba Touba refrain. "Caridad" is one of the best African salsa recordings I have heard, funky and faithful at the same time.

The remaining five tracks collect two from an Orchestre Cheikh Tall & Idrissa Diop record, plus three previously unpublished recordings Idrissa Diop did with SAHEL in 1976. While the sound quality of these last tracks is more marginal, they do illustrate a completed transition to mbalax, with the tama talking drum taking its important role.

Diamonoye Tiopité is an Idrissa Diop revelation and education for me. I had only known the percussionist and singer from his later European recordings, which invariably leave me ambivalent with glossy, rock-oriented over-production. I'll post one of those albums in the next few days. This new CD of wonderfully fresh, old music gives me much more respect for Idrissa Diop and his important contribution to Senegalese music history. Production of this CD also led to a reconstitution of SAHEL in Dakar, and a couple of videos of new performances by these swinging elders are on the web. Enjoy this one!

Diamonoye Tiopité is available at the usual download vendors; for full sound CD or vinyl you can go here.

Baaba Maal - Sunugal (1995)

Baaba Maal's first internationally available album, Wango, broke over me like a wave. The torrid percussion and incredible singing took my breath away. Since then I have seen him perform several times, and I have sadly watched his albums become ever more separated from the essence that I witnessed.

Here is a splendid Dakar cassette that captures that essence. The cast includes the regulars of Maal's acoustic performances. Kaouding Cissokho is brilliant on kora, Mansour Seck is steady on guitar as always, and on a few cuts, especially the opening "Ndaga," the percussion is a great tama and sabar interplay. But above and beyond all is Maal's unique voice.

I digitized this tape in the nick of time. The next time I played it, it self-destructed.

Enjoy!

Youssou N"Dour - Lii! (1996)

Many of the Africans who become international superstars do so by fusing their indigenous music with transnational pop flavors, and then producing albums designed to reach a broad global audience. Certainly both Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal from Senegal, as well as Congo's Papa Wemba, have made albums so mainstream and removed from the music that established their careers, that some fans are alienated.

Thankfully most of these stars continue producing albums for their home markets that carry the great strengths that propelled these artists to fame. This cassette from Youssou N'Dour et le Super Etoile is a Jololi release from Senegal that reflects the band's sophisticated polish, yet mostly retains a tough mbalax edge. The laid-back version of Youssou's great song "Birima" is a treat, as is "Baïkat."

The sound quality of this cassette is not perfect; in fact I could not get the last song to successfully play more than a few seconds. Perhaps it's just as well: it is a soppy duet with Italian crooner Messimo Di Cataldo that may have changed the whole premise of this short introduction, if I had had to listen to it. Take a listen to the rest of it: you should not be disappointed.

Enjoy!