Thione Seck "Orientissime" 2005***

Thione Seck may be, next to Youssou N'Dour, one of Senegal's most popular singers but he remains relatively unknown in (what we think of as) the West - which is, to be exact, the North, seeing as Senegal lies to the west of Europe's westernmost point. He served as the lead singer of Orchestra Baobab (1973-1979) but left to front his own band, missing out on the international recognition that came with the release of their Pirates' Choice album in '89. He belongs to the griot caste, West Africa's hereditary troubadours and keepers of oral tradition - his great-grandfather was a court musician for the legendary Wolof king Lat Dior. He usually plays in the popular mbalax style rather than the Cubano-Congolese rumba of Baobab, but this album finds him transcending his roots and fusing West African music with Arabic and Indian melodies. The Arabic influence comes naturally, due to the proximity with the Maghreb as well as Seck's position in the Muslim Murid brotherhood. Apparently, Indian music reached him through the Bollywood film industry whose products were quite popular in Dakar's movie theaters when he was young.

Seck before a Bollywood poster in Dakar

All the songs are credited to Seck, many of them being complete reworkings of previous hits he had with his regular band Raam Daan. The mix is natural and arrangements expertly realized: The backing vocalists are a typical African detail, Seck's smooth and languorous vocals (sung in Wolof) isn't a far cry from Arabic singing, with oriental melodies often played by soaring violins, and Indian music scales prevail. Likewise the instrumentation is mixed: we get the local  xalam lute and sabar drums, Indian tablas and sitars and Arabian oud. "Assalo" is the most Indian-sounding piece thanks to the sitar and guest vocalist Bombay Jay. Egyptian singer Rehab graces two songs here: "Yaye" and "Woyatina". Apparently Seck was impressed with the success of Natasha Atlas' amalgam of Oriental and pop sounds, and wanted to incorporate some of that in his album. While she doubtless has a wonderful voice, I'm more attracted to the Arabian strings, both in these tracks as well as the opener "Siiw", atmospheric closer "Mapenda" and percussion-driven "Blain Djigueul". "Manmignoul" also sports beautiful violin and (flute?) solos. "Mouhamadou Bamba", previously also recorded by Orchestra Baobab, retains the chorus of that version but it's slower with a more passionate and spiritual lead vocal as befits its religious text. "Ballago" is another highlight, featuring wistful sitar and sweet female backing vocals while "Djirim" and "Doom" are among the more upbeat tunes, despite lyrics dealing with suffering children and poverty. The latter is the only song with horns, and the closest to Orchestra Baobab's Afro-Cuban style. Orientissime was a relative commercial success with the "World Music" audience, coming on the heels of other successful syncretic attempts (the Irish/techno/African grooves of Afro Celt Sound System, Afro-flamenco amalgam of Songhai, Afro-Blues collaboration between Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder, etc.). To be honest, I'm somewhat skeptical about these transcontinental mixtures. I like the fact that musicians from different cultures create music together, but I'm apprehensive of disparate traditions merging into a musical mush that borrows from everywhere without being rooted anywhere. Not that this is the case here, mind you. But neither is this a good entry point to African music - more like an interesting, pleasant-sounding, experiment.

**** for Siiw, Assalo, Djirim, Ballago, Doom, Manmignou, Blain Djigueul, Mapenda

*** for Yaye, Woyatina, Mouhamadou Bamba

** for Mouhahibou