Search - Mansour Seck :: N'Der Fouta Tooro 1

Good, sparse music from Northern Senegal

"Ian Herrick" | San Jose, CA | 03/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was the first in Mansour Seck's own name, and has some very good material on it by him as well as some friends of his, notably another Fouta Touro griot named Ousmany Hamady Diop, as well as the vocals of Seck's long-time friend and collaborator Baaba Maal.



The music is played in a sparse style, with just a few string instruments -- guitar and hoddu -- and minimal percussion, with the voices of Seck, Maal, and Diop rising above the interwoven dry rhythms in that wonderful Fouta Touro style; a blend of Arabic and African influence.



The music on here is good, but for the most part not exemplary. Maal's singing on one track is superb, and Seck shows off his guitar skills admirably. A little rougher and harder to listen to are Ousmany Hamady Diop's in which he plays guitar and sings in a loud, rough style. I like this, but some listeners may be put off by the homeliness of the music, less polished than Maal's singing.



This album is good, and I recommend it, but in order to really get into the world of Mansour Seck, listen to "Yelayo.""