Every Friday, The World Africa presents three new musical releases from or inspired by the continent. This week, go to Senegal, from Dakar to Kaolack via Podor.
“Passport”, from Lass
Originally from Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, and based in France since 2008, Lass made himself known in Europe thanks to his very good first album, Bumayé, published in 2022. Here he is back, since mid-April, with a second opus, Passport, in which this disciple of Faada Freddy (singer of the rap group Daara J) lulled by the melodies of Omar Pène and Ismaël Lô continues to reconcile the heritage of Senegalese song with Afropop and electro aesthetics.
He who, when younger, almost embarked in a migrant canoe before giving up because one of his songs was to be broadcast on Senegalese radio, expresses in the eponymous title the demand that African passports should allow travel just as much as passports European or American. A message brought to life through a colorful clip created using artificial intelligence.
“Yewende”, from Tidiane Thiam
“What I should sing, I rather say with my guitar”, declares Tidiane Thiam. Originally from Podor, a small town in northern Senegal bordering the river of the same name, he learned to play his favorite instrument by listening to Mandinka music broadcasts on the radio, subsequently deploying his own style over three years. albums including the last, Africa Yontii (“Africa, it’s time”, in Pulaar), was released on Friday May 17.
On this occasion, the self-taught musician joined forces with beatmaker Moctar Ndiaye, who discreetly integrated field recordings and electronic sounds into the guitarist’s sensitive and restrained string playing. “It is time for Africa to change, affirms the latter. It is time for our leaders to change. It is time for Africans to take charge of their destiny. Otherwise, others will take care of it. »
“Kaolack”, fromAron & The Jeri Jeri Band
Head to the town of Kaolack, 180 km southeast of Dakar, which gives its name to a piece from the album Dama Bëgga Nibi (“I want to go home”, in Wolof). This opus released in January is the result of the meeting, in 2019 in Berlin, between Aron Ottignon, a jazz pianist born in New Zealand, and the percussionist Bakane Seck, leader of the Jeri Jeri Band and specialist in the sabar, this emblematic drum of Senegal and the country’s main musical genre, mbalax.
It is also this style, seasoned with afrobeat, afrofunk, jazz and electro, which is at the heart of the eleven pieces. “I hope to promote a better understanding of the important role music plays as a bridge between different cultures and traditions, says Aron Ottignon. We are all unique and this music serves to promote acceptance and celebration of our differences. »
Read also | Rap, jazz and maloya: the musical selection from “World Africa” #188
Add to your selections
Find all of the editorial staff’s musical favorites in the YouTube playlist of World Africa.
