Senegal (Mbalax), Part 2:
I think
Baaba Maal is an one of the most exciting (and physically beautiful) artists alive. In Africa, he is known as “The Nightingale” for his clear tenor voice. He left Senegal to formally study music in Paris, but on returning to Africa, integrated what he learned with traditional Senagalese music. It's hard to pin him down to one genre--he definitely has mbalax (drum beat/dance rhythm) roots, but you can hear reggae, Euro-American, and traditional WA folk (apala) influences as well. Maal has lots of free, full tracks at last.fm:
Baaba Maal – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm
Some good videos are:
"Yela," with Jamaican reggae artist (Baaba Maal is the one
without the beard
)--a better quality version is at:
Baaba Maal Yela Music Video on Yahoo! Music
...but if that doesn't work for you, on youtube at:
YouTube - Baaba Maal - Yela
"Gorel"--better quality video at:
Baaba Maal Gorel Music Video on Yahoo! Music
...or at:
Senegal - Baaba Maal - Gorel - NMETV Latest Music Videos and Clips
"Souka-Nayo" with Celtic female vocalists at:
Baaba Maal Souka Nayo Music Video on Yahoo! Music
(Also, see Bulldog's thread on Baaba Maal!)
Toure Kunda is a fusion band started by a group of brothers in the late 1970s. After developing a traditional Senegalese music style, they moved to Paris where they eventually adopted a mbalax-inspired Afro-rock style they called “djambaadong.” Here’s a short sample of Toure Kunda:
Dailymotion - Concert Toure Kunda, une vidéo de TKofficiel. Toure, Kunda, concert
Xalam is a high energy band started in 1969 by 2 brothers. The band is named after a Senegalese stringed instrument that they use a lot in their numbers. They really should have been included in my first post about Senegalese music because, like others in that post, they are heavily influenced by Cuban music and started by playing lots of salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms. They are still going strong and now incorporate a number of rhythms besides Cuban, including a heavy jazz influence.
Definitely worth a listen, a number of tracks are available at:
Xalam on IMEEM ...or their Website at:
Xalam - mp3 afro-jazz samples of music to download
Last,
Thione Seck is a mbalax artist, but unlike those others above, is heavily influenced by Indian and Arabic rhythms. When talking about Senegal musicians, he is often overshadowed by Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal. But I feel he is equal to them in talent, and if you listen to nothing else in this post, I would at least give Thione Seck a try--
his music is beautiful! He has 22 full, free tracks at last.fm:
Thione Seck – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm
...and one of my favorite songs by Seck is on the video:
YouTube - Thione Seck - Mathiou