Ernie's African Odyssey Part 42 - Senegal

Our jeep full of jive trundles into country number 42, and it is one of the biggest and best in musical terms - Senegal. Some of the artists who did not make the cut like Ismaël Lô, Laba Sosseh and the great Youssou N'Dour would grace any playlist.

Our opener is a surprise package. Literally. A couple of weeks ago I bought a CD on eBay. When the package arrived last week it contained not just the CD I was expecting but another one that I had never even heard of let alone ordered. When I saw it was by a Senegalese band I took it as a sign.

So with thanks to our mystery benefactor we kick things off with a track from "Debbo Hande", the 2002 album by Suuf - a one off collaboration between brothers Djiby and Aliou Guissé from Les Frères Guissé, singers Hady Guissé (no relation) and Biram Seck and assorted Senegalese and British musicians including Justin Adams. Very good it is too.

Djiby and Aliou and the first of three sets of brothers whose music we are dishing up for you today. The next ones are Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré, or Touré Kunda as they were known to the many fans that they acquired over their 40+ year career, brought to an end by Ismaila's death last year. Today's selection harks back to their early days, coming as it does from their 1983 album "Amadou Tilo". 

Djanbutu Thiossane was founded in the late 1990s by the three N'Diaye brothers who have the unfortunate first names Ass, Mass and Pap. Maybe their parents thought it would toughen them up in a "Boy Named Sue" style. Whatever the intent, they seem to have a sunny disposition. This song from their 2002 album "Fass" is utterly charming and guaranteed to put a smile on my face. If you aren't smiling too by the time they finish paying tribute to fish and chips then I worry for you.

That's enough of the brothers, it is time for a Senegalese sister. I have not been able to find out anything about Soumboulou Siby but I picked up a copy of her album "Ido Tixu N'daga" about ten years ago from one of the many now vanished 'informal' African record shops that used to be dotted around the Barbès district of Paris. I have been grooving to this track ever since and I'm sure you will too.

Much better known are Orchestra Baobab, one of the biggest bands ever to emerge from West Africa. Originally a splinter group of the equally storied Star Band, they ruled the Dakar dance scene from 1970 until they split up in the late 1980s. Fortunately for all of us they got back together again in the early 2000s and they continue to tour and occasionally record to this day. 

I have been lucky enough to see them twice (in 2012 and 2017) and enjoyed both gigs immensely. Today's selection dates from 1975 but pretty much anything from their back catalogue is worth listening to, including the post-comeback albums "Specialist In All Styles" (2002) and "Made In Dakar" (2013).

Another Senegalese artist I have seen live is the rapper Didier Awadi. By chance I happened to be in Brussels in 2010 when he was performing his new album "Presidents D'Afrique" and I popped in on the off chance that it might be interesting. It was. For a longer and more boring review of the gig I refer you to the post I did at the time.

"Presidents D'Afrique" is a sort of tribute album to the African liberation leaders who led their countries to independence on which he samples their speeches and collaborates with musical guests from across the continent. This track features the voice of Thomas Sankara, the first president of Burkina Faso, and the vocals and kora playing of Awadi's fellow Senegalese Noumoucounda Cissoko.

Another collaboration now, and one which will ease us into the MAR slot rather than having the usual juddering change of gears. I am sure many of you will know of the mighty Baaba Maal, who has been bestriding the Senegalese scene like a colossus for over 30 years and who was always going to feature in one form or another.

Way back in 1992 when Baaba Maal recorded his album "Lam Toro" on Island's subsidiary label Mango, Island brought in their in-house reggae producer Godwin Logie (Steel Pulse, Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear etc etc) to do some remixes. One of them was this version of the lead single on which Macka B expounds on the historical and cultural links between Senegal and Jamaica. 

Which brings us neatly to the MAR slot itself. There was no shortage of high quality contenders but after much deliberation I plumped for Omar Pene fronting the fabulous Super Diamono, another one of the great bands to emerge in Senegal in the 1970s. This track is from their 1993 album "Fari".  

"Gido" - Suuf

"Courrier" - Toure Kunda

 "Qu'est-ce Qu'on Mange" - Djanbutu Thiossane

"N'Djeneba" - Soumboulou Siby

"Kelen Kati Leen" - Orchestra Baobab

"Oser Inventer L'Avenir" - Awadi (feat. Noumoucounda Cissoko)

"Hamady Boiro (12" Remix)" - Baaba Maal (feat. Macka B)

"Docteur" - Omar Pene & Super Diamono