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Baaba Maal
Born in the Senegalese region of Fouta, Baaba Maal has imposed himself as one of Africa’s greatest contemporary singers. Despite not being part of the griot caste, Maal was able to impose himself thanks to a unique voice and a remarkable grasp of his nation’s treasure trove of music. He was signed up by Chris Blackwell for Palm Pictures and has over a dozen international releases to his name, the latest being the 2008 album On the road. A high-pitched, warm voice with delicate orchestrations : Baaba Maal's music is a reflection of the man himself. Slender and refined, with a hint of sophistication. And above all an incredible sense of rhythm. Baaba Maal was born in Podor, a small town on the banks of the river Senegal, on the border with Mauritania. When just a teenager, he joined a group of 70 musicians, Asly Fouta, in which he learnt to play various traditional instruments. As soon as he had left school, he went touring all over West Africa with Mansour Seck, a griot friend. Following the concerts they performed in one village after another, the elders would tell him of the region's history and that of its music. A self-made ethnomusicologist, Baaba Maal arrived one day in Paris with the memories of much of his country's traditions in his bags. Once in the Western metropolis, he immersed himself in American-European sounds. He returned to Dakar an accomplished musician, exploring the crossroads of cultures. He formed the group Daande Lenol (the Voice of the People) and made his first album Firin' in Fouta. For the album Nomad Soul, Baaba Maal worked with various musicians from around the world : the female vocal quartet Screaming Orpheans from Ireland, the legendary reggae bassist 100% Jamaican Robbie Shakespeare and the great rock and experimental music pioneers John Hassel (saxophonist) and Brian Eno. To round off the cosmopolitan atmosphere, Nomad Soul was recorded in Dakar, Kingston, London and New York. A change of scene guaranteed the artist’s global appreciation of world rhythms. In 2000, following a long period spent touring, Baaba felt the need to return to the music of his origins. Under the guidance of the Englishman John Leckie, accompanied by Baaba's most loyal musicians and a handful of guests (including guitarist Kante Manfila, Chris Franck from Brazilian group Da Lata, members of the Anglo-Columbian collective Sidestepper and the London Community Gospel Choir), he set up a mobile studio in the middle of the little village of Mbunk near Toubab Dialaw in Senegal. The sessions recorded by moonlight were magical moments and the surrounding noises (children crying, crickets singing and cockerels crowing) quite naturally become part of the recording. The record was given the finishing touches at the Real World studios and the result Missing you (Mi yeewnii) is exquisite. Since then, Baaba Maal has invested much of his time in a festival in Matam, Senegal, across the river from Mauritania called Blues du Fleuve. He is seeking to set his own independent music structure in 2008 to see his years at Palm Pictures bear fruit in a label that nurtures homegrown talents.
(Translation by Daniel Brown)
Magali Bergès et Mondomix
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