Thione Seck is a long-standing Senegalese superstar who has been largely overlooked in the international hoopla over Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal and Ismael Lo. But this generous taste of Seck's contemporary work reveals him as their worthy peer. The music is slick and modern, but deep. Seck's 12-piece band, Raam Daan, crank out tough, hard-hitting mbalax, the pop sound that has grown out of the Wolof people's complex and layered sabar drumming style. Crackling percussion lies at the heart of the sound, but guitars, horns and synthesizers build the rhythms into lush, pummeling pop. Seck's distinctive, reedy voice is the real treat. Riding over the rhythms in a state of mystic detachment, Seck sings with aching clarity and passion. Track after track, as the music shifts into ever-denser textures, Seck's phrases draw out languidly. He takes flight on gale-force breezes his band generates. It is unlike anything else in African pop. Even on a somewhat tacky rip-off of "Stand By Me," called "Momy," Seck comes through with convincing soul. These eleven tracks will leave many listeners wondering how Seck has managed to evade the Afropop pantheon of stars all these years. Originally published in: Boston Phoenix
Thione Seck is a long-standing Senegalese superstar who has been largely overlooked in the international hoopla over Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal and Ismael Lo. But this generous taste of Seck's contemporary work reveals him as their worthy peer. The music is slick and modern, but deep. Seck's 12-piece band, Raam Daan, crank out tough, hard-hitting mbalax, the pop sound that has grown out of the Wolof people's complex and layered sabar drumming style. Crackling percussion lies at the heart of the sound, but guitars, horns and synthesizers build the rhythms into lush, pummeling pop. Seck's distinctive, reedy voice is the real treat. Riding over the rhythms in a state of mystic detachment, Seck sings with aching clarity and passion. Track after track, as the music shifts into ever-denser textures, Seck's phrases draw out languidly. He takes flight on gale-force breezes his band generates. It is unlike anything else in African pop. Even on a somewhat tacky rip-off of "Stand By Me," called "Momy," Seck comes through with convincing soul. These eleven tracks will leave many listeners wondering how Seck has managed to evade the Afropop pantheon of stars all these years.