VARIOUS ARTISTS – Senegal 70
aaamusic | On 18, Dec 2015
There was a time when Senegal and its capital were the liveliest spot on the Western African music map. The Golden and “Sounding” Age happened around 40 years ago when Dakar became a forge of music talents able to mix together the centuries-old local Mandinka, sabar and griot traditions with Western African more contemporary styles like the mbalax and Congolese rumba (soukous), and overseas influences from American funk and jazz to Cuban son. Believe it or not, Analog Africa and Teranga Beat’s crews had the crazy, but also culturally rewarding and exciting idea to set their music time machine to the years between the 1960 and the ’70s and travel back to revive that fervid artistic scene.
The result is nothing other than one of the best compilations published this year. Senegal 70 is not simply, as its title specifies, a collection of sonic gems, but a gem itself. The album is a selection of the most captivating tunes of that period, but next to the material outcome, it is the research work behind it which amazes the most.
Adamantios Kafetzis, who is the main architect of the project next to being a hungry record collector, started Senegal 70’s adventure back in 2009. He went to Thiés (near Dakar), where he found and digitalised more than 300 live tracks recorded in the legendary venue called Sangomar. Once back home, he realised that he was holding in his hands something more than songs, but invaluable music relics describing and enriching the memory of one of the most exciting period in the Senegalese music culture.
It took Analog Africa four years to convert that bulk of precious material in a single CD (double LP), but in the end Sonic Gems & Previously Unreleased Recordings from the 70’s is a bright reflection of an entire scene which attracted to Dakar personalities like James Brown, the Jackson Five, Celia Cruz and Manu Dibango.
Throughout its 70 minutes, the album represents the Western African country’s music scene in its entirety and eclecticism.
Masters like Orchestre Baobab, Orchestre Laye Thiam and Amara Touré, who were related with the influential Star Band de Dakar, which addressed Senegalese music during the last decades, reflect the collective and multifaceted soul of the national culture, expressing their mix between afro-Cuban upbeats and groovy psychedelia.
While other less-known interpreters like King N’Gom and Le Tropical Jazz declare the strong link existing between Western Africa and Latin America music through some authentic and energetic salsa oriented rhythms.
To wind-up, it’d be impossible not to mention the booklet of the album: 44 pages almost encyclopaedic pages about the background of the opera and its interpreters; because, differently from many other similar collections, Senegal 70 doesn’t simply aim to entertain its listeners, but also nurture their curiosity and bring to light a thrilling music scene.
