Senegal shares with 2 groups led by Senegalese artists, Lass and Amadou Diagne in the #LiveSession “Passeport” vs “Plastic Man”. (Rebroadcast)
There are albums that remain like cornerstones, essential steps in an artist’s discography. Passeport will undoubtedly mark that of Lass in an indelible way. On this second disc, the formidable Senegalese singer highlights the qualities appreciated on his first album (Bumayé in June 2022) having then made him a “promising ambassador” of modern African music according to the newspaper The World at the time. This new disc is first of all the sign of a solid experience acquired through live performance, with more than 120 dates in Europe, including some of the biggest festivals (Montreux Jazz, Vieilles Charrues, Sziget), and prestigious invitations such as those of Fatoumata Diawara, Roberto Fonseca at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, Guts at the Jazz Café in London, or Jovanotti in Italy (Venice and Naples). This new record is above all the result of a recording with the talented producer Jordan Kouby (Hindi Zahra, Keziah Jones, Ayo, Fakear, etc.). The latter introduced Lass to new accomplices in the studio, including the golden brass of the Cotonete collective, and the fiery Florian Pellissier on keyboards… All completed with contagious enthusiasm the new original compositions of the Lass musicians: Etienne Kermarc, Nico Taïte, Erwan Loeffel and the Senegalese guitarist Magaye Gueye who marks this record with his magic strings on almost every track.
Of course, the heart of this album remains the melodies and breathtaking voice of Lass, a talent that he has honed since his early childhood in Senegal, when he trained his voice facing the ocean in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, the sandy suburb where he was born. We now know his story, from the first parts of Daara J in Dakar to the evenings of the Voilaaa Sound System after his arrival in France, without forgetting the tragedies and the fights on the road: the friends who disappeared in the canoes at sea, the difficulty to cross borders and join the French mother of his children, unemployment, the first wild “concerts” with hats in train stations…
But Lass made his way, along the way taking on board those who believed in him. Bruno Patchworks from Voilaaa Sound System has been at his side since the beginning, and the composer once again signs here “Massamba”, the first single… After a first album having established him in France as a new African revelation, Passeport takes over.
Pour the video for the single MassambaLass wanted to work with the new wave of Senegalese videographers who now compete with the best international audiovisual productions. Director Sélémane Dieye is the most prominent of this young generation who already signs rap clips and images for Netflix. He shot this music video for Lass while slaloming through the congested streets of the medina, chasing a cast of adventurous skateboarders. These “cool kids” with orange hair hang out (too much) on the sidewalks of the capital, shake up traditional family structures, and take us to an urban and modern Dakar that thwarts the old clichés of “world music”.
Titles performed at the big studio
– Fields Live RFI watch the clip
– Sorry Feat. Roberto Fonseca, from l’album audio
– Passport Live RFI see the clip.
Line Up : Lasschant, Pope “Magaye” Gueye, guitar.
Sound: Benoît Letirant, Mathias Taylor.
► Album The fields (Chapter Two/ Wagram 2024).
Read on RFI Musique – YouTube – Instagram – TikTok.
Then we receive Touki, which means “Journey” in Wolof
Touki is a collective composed by the Anglo-Senegalese Amadou Diagne (kora, percussion, vocals) and the Franco-American Cory Seznec (guitar, vocals). The duo, which became a trio with the addition of a cello, released their 2th album Plastic Man recorded at Real World Studios. This album focuses on themes of climate change, environmental activism or more spiritual topics. The cover art represents the Libyan desert, photographed by Italian journalist Giulio Piscitelli, a desert which is the scene of human tragedy with its displaced populations. Plastic Man is also the name of a Senegalese activist who fights against pollution… Plastic.
Titles performed at the big studio
– Harry Live RFI
– Full Cowboyfrom the album
– God Among Men Live RFI.
Line Up : Amadou Diagne, kora, drum, Cory Seznecguitar, banjo and Marius Pibarotviolin, cello.
Sound: Mathias Taylor, Benoît Letirant.
► Album Plastic Man (Captain Pouch Rd 2024).
Facebook – Bandcamp – Instagram – YouTube.
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