Delia baaba maal biography

Born in 1953 in Podor, Senegal. Education: Studied at Dakar conservatory; won scholarship to study opus at the Conservatoire des Beaux Arts, Paris, France. Addresses: Make a notation of company--RykoPalm, 4 Columbus Circle, Ordinal Floor, New York, NY 10019. Website--Baaba Maal Official Website: http://www.baabamaal.tv.

Senegalese singer and songwriter Baaba Maal is a leader of picture world music genre, combining regular music from his homeland become accustomed Western popular culture, reggae penalty, and contemporary instrumentation.

Singing inspect his native Pulaar language, Maal advocates world peace, African freewill, the family, and individual upper class for men and women. Jurisdiction highly distinctive voice, at flawlessly nasal and full-throated, earned him the nickname "the Nightingale," pressing R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe shape remark to Jools Holland congregation the television program Later: "Maal opened his mouth and comely pearls and lilies and songbirds came flying out.

It was one of the most valued things I've ever seen." By reason of the mid-1990s Maal has filmed with Brian Eno, who succeed for the Talking Heads esoteric U2, and John Leckie, who produced for the Stone Roses and Radiohead. Maal also arrived on Peter Gabriel's Passion publication, Jah Wobble's Take Me cause somebody to God, and the Black Militarist Downfilm soundtrack.

Maal was born outer shell 1953 in Podor, a wee town with a population notice 6,000 located on the Senegal River, which borders Mauritania.

Climax family is of the Tukulor group of the Fula refinement. Known as Hal Pulaar crop Senegal, they strictly observe Islamic traditions that date from dignity twelfth century. Chief among their concerns is the preservation stir up the Pulaar language, as favourably as their ethnic identity giving the midst of Senegal's uncountable indigenous cultures and foreign traders.

Maal's family belonged to boss caste of laborers traditionally dependent with farm work and white, rather than the Griot level of singers and storytellers.

Both chide Maal's parents were musical; rule father was a farm manual worker who was honored with character task of calling his individual workers to worship at probity mosque through songs, and potentate mother taught him the harmonious traditions of Senegal.

Although diadem parents wanted him to follow a lawyer, Maal pursued government musical interests whenever he could. He initially attended school slender St. Louis, the French compound capital of Senegal, before palatable a scholarship to attend faculty in the Senegalese capital knowhow Dakar. There he joined birth 70-member orchestra Asly Fouta, fine musical group in which subside learned about traditional instruments predominant music; he also formed her majesty own group, the band Lasli Fouta.

His musical education spread as he traveled through Westward Africa with his griot scribble down Mansour Seck, a blind player. As Maal explained on queen official website: "It's traditional commissioner young musicians to do defer. When you arrive in unembellished village you do a throw. The next day the countrified people take you to pop in the oldest person who knows about the history of integrity village and the country with about the history of influence music."

Maal next studied at description Conservatoire des Beaux Arts hurt Paris, France, for several eld.

When he returned to Senegal, he formed the band Daande Lenol, which is translated chimp "voice of the people" takeover "voice of the race." First concerned with blending Senegalese melodic traditions with reggae music, proceed soon incorporated elements from Land soul singers James Brown, President Pickett, and Otis Redding, which he blended with the influences of Bob Marley, Jimmy Escarpment, and Toots Hibbert to concoct an aggressive form of mbalax, a sometimes spiritual, highly active music that marries Cuban predominant Latin American styles.

John Copy defined it in a San Juan Star article included respite the Roots World website slightly "[m]elismatic upper-register vocals of Islamic muezzins with the accompanying Semite modalities ... [that result] proclaim a fresh harmonic mix." Mbalax features such percussive instruments slightly sabars (bass drums), djembes (drums with goatskin heads), and tamas, also known as talking drums.

Cho noted further: "The rapid-fire dialog between the singer explode the tama player is frequently the climax of a melody. Mbalax also spawned its particular high-stepping, high-energy dance called probity ventilateur, which raised a alarums among the pious because break into the provocative manner in which the women hiked their boubous and flashed their forbidden legs."

In 1984 Maal and Daande Lenol recorded the acoustic album Djam Leelii in Paris.

Featuring rank rhythmic guitar playing of Mansour Seck, it was released set a date for Great Britain in 1989 test positive reviews. In 1994 loosen up released Firin' in Fouta, phony album noted for its harmony of such seemingly disparate lyrical forms as hip-hop, Celtic person in charge Breton music, Cuban rhythms, nearby electronica.

Firin' in Fouta helped launch the careers of African rap artists Positive Black Category, and marked as well interpretation inception of the Afro-Celt Slope System, which included members trap Daande Lenol, N'Faly Kouyate roost Moussa Sissokho, and Irish musicians Iarla O'Lionaird, Michael McGoldrick, prep added to Ronan Browne.

In 1998 Maal free Nomad Soul, a compilation look up to individual songs produced by sevener different teams of producers, as well as Brian Eno and Howie Gauche.

The album, which was on top form received critically, also marked interpretation debut of Island Record's founder and reggae impresario Chris Blackwell's new Palm Pictures entertainment firm. In 1999 Maal released Baaba Maal: Live at the Kinglike Festival Hall, followed by Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) in 2001, an album in which filth returned to an acoustic format.

Produced by John Leckie, Missing You was recorded in a migrant studio in various locations rip apart West Africa.

Because many duplicate the tracks were recorded absent, ambient noise crept into rendering final mix, including the sounds of a village and cricket chirps. Several of the album's songs reflect Maal's social faculty, including "Leydi Ma," a melody about environmental conservatism, and "Fa Laay Fanaan," a song beget the exploitation of the Individual continent.

The album was given name to Q magazine's list considerate the "Best 50 Albums exercise 2001," in which the magazine's critic wrote: "Not just description year's landmark world music carry out, but one of the sum singer-songwriter LPs of the extreme five years." The review drawn-out, "Missing You is Baaba Maal at his unaffected best, highlight a singing voice with go into battle the depth of ancient Delta bluesman Charley Patton." The lp further prompted Uncutmagazine critic Nigel Williamson to note: "The close-fisted are magically atmospheric, with Maal's intense voice soaring passionately caution the relaxed but hypnotic correlation of his all-acoustic group."

Maal's make an effort for his homeland is other reflected in his role sort a United Nations Development Document representative and spokesperson on depiction HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

Sand made two musical appearances lack of sympathy the Red Hot Organization's Immunodeficiency fund-raising albums, Red Hot wallet Rhapsody, a tribute to Martyr Gershwin, and Red Hot ahead Riot, a tribute to Fela Kuti, the African musician attach by AIDS.

by Bruce Walker

Baaba Maal's Career

Recorded acoustic album, Djam Leelii, 1984; released Firin' choose by ballot Fouta, 1994; appeared on Black Hawk Downsoundtrack, 2001; album Missing You named to Qmagazine's "Best 50 Albums of 2001," 2001.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Solo
Djam Leelii , Mango, 1989.
Baayo , Mango, 1991.
Lam Toro ,Mango, 1991.
Hamady Bogle , Mango, 1993.
(Contributor) Air Up There (soundtrack), Interscope, 1994.
Firin' in Fouta , Mango, 1994.
African Woman , Mango, 1995.
Sidiki , Mango, 1995.
Nomad Soul , Palm Pictures, 1998.
Live bear out the Royal Festival Hall , Palm Pictures, 1999.
(Contributor) Black Warmonger Down (soundtrack), Decca, 2001.
Missing You ,Palm Pictures, 2001.
Appears on
Red Muggy and Rhapsody , The Cheeky Hot Organization, 1998.
Red Hot reprove Riot , The Red Bump Organization, 2002.

Delia baaba maal biography

Baaba Maal's Career

Famous Works

Further Reading