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Fallou Dieng is the elder statesman of the ?new
generation? of Senegalese artists emerging from the long shadows and rich legacy
left by
the country?s most famous son,
Youssou N'Dour. Known as le Roi de l?ambiance
for creating some of Dakar?s more outrageously provocative mbalax dances, he
is perhaps the best known and most popular of the ?Youngsters?.
Born at the
dawn of Senegal?s independence, Fallou knew he was destined for success from an
early age, and his international debut CD,
Medina, is a testament not just to
his formidable talent but also to his own steadfast independence.
Medina is compiled from four locally released cassettes spanning a four-year
periodboth as a songwriter and as a musician. Barsane, the first recording with
his
band, the DLC, remains one of finest Senegalese cassette releases of the 90s,
and launched his career. Beusseum-Bi, Biri Biri and Weex Bet all followed to
critical acclaim and growing popular adulation.
At the beginning of ?93, Fallou was still a man of modest means and limited
resources, and would need help forming his own band and cutting the first
record. A little support and encouragement from his old Medina neighbor and
mentor, Youssou N'Dour and his business partner, Cheikh Tall Dioum, would go
along a
way. Fallou grabbed his chance, and the DLC band was born, named in
recognition of his benefactors. DLC (Dakar Loisir Club) was the name Youssou and
Dioum
gave the old Thiossane nightclub when they took it over. Old habits die hard,
and Dakar?s clubbers still use the original name.
The musicians gathered were all aged between 18 and 25: The brilliant Assane
Seck on lead Guitar, Cheikh T. Dieng (rhythm guitar), Nguido Ba (Bass),
Abdourahmane Cisse (Keyboards) Pape Thiopet Ndiaye (Sabar/percussion) and Sam
Thiam
(Tama-talking drum).
For the first recording Pape Oumar Ngom (Super Etoile?s longtime rhythm
guitarist) came in with technical support, along with a contingent of Super
Etoile
musicians. Thierno Koite on sax (who also recently contributed to Cheikh Lo?s
Bambay Gueej), the beautiful voice of Viviane and Mbaye Gueye Faye, as
animator, calling out Taasou style (an ancient form of wolof rap) in short,
sharp
rhythmic wolof phrases, echoed by hard cracks of the sabar drum.
While many musicians in Senegal and elsewhere in Africa spent the nineties
shedding horns in favor of keyboards, Fallou added another trumpet to complete
the line-up. Barsane was a smash, Fallou was dubbed Le Prince de la Medina
overnight and Dakar?s beautiful young women danced mbalax as if in a trance. |
