Yelayo

Amazon.com
While he is best known for his partnership with Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal, Mansour Seck has quietly built a small but impressive catalog of his own recordings, emphasizing tradition and the guitar. The 1997 recording Yelayo is his most fulfilled work. One gets the impression that Seck is the man who continually brings Maal back to his roots as he wanders through a pop-electronic landscape, and this album shows how deep Seck's roots are. Two guitars (Mansour Seck and Abdoulaziz Seck), hoddu (a tense-sounding three-string lute played here by Demba Dia), kora (Noumoukunda Cissoko), percussion (Bada Seck), and electric bass (Pathé Jassi) form the ensemble in a dry, distinctive whole where each instrument stands out clearly. Seck is not a great singer in the pop sense, but he is a singer of sincerity and warmth, and these songs are well conveyed by his voice. Unlike his flashy work with Maal's band, here he presents his music in subtle, understated ways that evoke passion, depth, and grace without pyrotechnics or pop. --Louis Gibson

Yelayo,Mansour Seck,Stern's,Afro-Pop,Int'l & World Music,Pop,Senegal,Senegalese

Average customer rating: WOW! One of the best African albums EVER!

Yelayo Mansour Seck Manufacturer: Stern's ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Africa | International | Styles | Music Senegal & Gambia | Africa | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Africa | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: New Ancient Strings Djam Leelii ASIN: B00000DDDD Release Date: 1996-05-21

Tracks:

1. Yelayo
2. Dona Bamba
3. Thiaroye
4. Africa
5. Rewbe Futa
6. M'Benyu
7. Yango
8. Ndiatigue
9. Kareli
10. Poolel
11. Sanu
12. Tedoungal

Amazon.com

While he is best known for his partnership with Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal, Mansour Seck has quietly built a small but impressive catalog of his own recordings, emphasizing tradition and the guitar. The 1997 recording Yelayo is his most fulfilled work. One gets the impression that Seck is the man who continually brings Maal back to his roots as he wanders through a pop-electronic landscape, and this album shows how deep Seck's roots are. Two guitars (Mansour Seck and Abdoulaziz Seck), hoddu (a tense-sounding three-string lute played here by Demba Dia), kora (Noumoukunda Cissoko), percussion (Bada Seck), and electric bass (Pathé Jassi) form the ensemble in a dry, distinctive whole where each instrument stands out clearly. Seck is not a great singer in the pop sense, but he is a singer of sincerity and warmth, and these songs are well conveyed by his voice. Unlike his flashy work with Maal's band, here he presents his music in subtle, understated ways that evoke passion, depth, and grace without pyrotechnics or pop. --Louis Gibson

Customer Reviews:

WOW! One of the best African albums EVER!.......2005-03-16

If "Djam Leeli" is music for a sunny afternoon, taking your thoughts into the clouds and even beyond into the stars, this album takes you into the primal underworld of Senegal. This music is DARK! This is the music of the rivers, the earth. Of blood, bone, and skin. This music has depth like the ocean, with its intense layers of voice, guitar, hoddu and bass.

The guitars and spike lutes form interweaving spirals of trance-inducing rhythms, and Mansour's gritty, smoky voice comes out like a tired and bone-weary bluesman, echoed by the bird-like chanting of his back-up singers (the sound quality and mastering, by the way, are excellent). The songs here are written by Mansour to reflect current issues in Senegal, Africa, and the world as a whole. They effectively blend traditional themes with current events. Mansour wants Africans to stay connected to their heritage. The song "Africa", for intstance, highlights the importance of music in African life. As a griot, Mansour also pays his respects to people: The song "Rewbe Fouta" honors the women of the Fouta (Fulani/Peul), while "Dona Bamba," one of the lighter, more airy songs, is about the importance of griots.

He also sings of war, of death and betrayal. The song "Thiaroye" is homage to the Senegalese soldiers who served in the French forces during WWII. Following the war the soldiers were stationed at Thiaroye, where they waited for their pay before being discharged. The Army officials would not pay, and following a demonstration by the soldiers summoned them to the headquarters the next morning, where they were subsequently massacred.
The song "Kareli" also deals with war. In it Mansour sings of all the places war is happening, and asks what will become of future generations if violence continues.

Love also is a theme here, with the song "Poolel," an allegory about the song of the turtle dove. A translation of part of the lyrics reads: "Please little dove, stay close to tonight, I'm afraid of the dark."

Listen to this song in the late hours, lose yourself in the African night, thinking of Fouta women and the cooing of the turtle dove. This is intense, thoughtful, deep music, and is absolutely one of the best albums of African music ever produced.

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