 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Artist List:
Amampondo
Amjad Ali Khan
Asad Qizilbash
Bembeya Jazz
Chico Cesar
Clave Y Guaguanco
Eliza Carthy Big Band
Ensemble Kaboul
Jimmy Cliff
Julien Jacob
LoJo
Manecas Costa
Manu Dibango and
Ray Lema
Nitin Sawhney
Ojos de Brujo
Oumou Sangare
Pape and Cheikh
Samba Sunda
Sevara Nazarkhan
Sierra Maestra
Super Rail Band
Temple of Sound
Teofilo Chantre
|
|
 |
|
Profile:
Pape and Cheikh
 
Looking back at the truly lamentable attempts by Britain's political parties to inspire their electorate with naff pop songs (remember the cod euphoria of 'Things Can Only Get Better' during Labour's 1997 campaign), the extraordinary effect of the song 'Yatal Gueew' ('Widening The Circle') on the course of Senegal's 2001 election campaign seems doubly remarkable.
The song extols the importance of tolerance and cooperation between ethnic, social and political groups and was adopted, to great effect, by 24 out of the 25 opposition parties. It was written by Papa Amadou Fall and Cheikhou Coulibaly, aka Pape & Cheikh, two singer-songwriters who have been friends and collaborators since their boyhoods in the central Senegalese town of Koalack.
After various studies and apprenticeships, Pape in tailoring and Cheikh in law, the pair came together in the capital Dakar to research the music of their own Serer people, delving deep into its mythological riches and unique polyrhythmic structures. Their expansive knowledge of Senegalese music in all its forms was compounded by a growing love for the radio-fed sounds of Bob Marley, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, and above all, Bob Dylan.
After a brief stint at the Dakar conservatory in the early 1990s followed by membership of various Serer groups, Pape and Cheikh began to write their own songs and invent their own sound which blended the classic vocals of duets like Simon and Garfunkel with the riches of Senegalese roots.
The pair were signed to Youssou N'Dour's Jololi label in 1999 and released their debut album 'Yakaar' just in time to capitalise on the election fever of 2001. A trip to the Barbican in London early the following year brought them to the attention of Real World Records with whom they released their European deubt 'Mariama'.
This is acoustic folk in the post Dylan sense of the word - relevant, challenging, funky and inspiring.
Biography by Andy Morgan, July 2003
Elsewhere on BBCi:
Album review
Other links:
Biography and Profile
|
|
|
|
|
|
