Nonesuch Releases Youssou N’Dour’s Egypt

New York, USA – On his latest release, Egypt,
Youssou N’Dour combines his native Senegalese traditions with Egyptian and Arabic sounds
in this musical exploration of Islamic Sufism. To promote the new album, a North
American tour begins June 27.

While N’Dour’s international releases have always
combined Senegalese musical traditions with outside sources of inspiration,
Egypt (Nonesuch Records), takes a fresh approach. On this album, the rhythms and
melodies of Senegal drive arrangements featuring Egyptian and Arabian orchestral
sounds. Featuring traditional musicians in Dakar and in Cairo, Egypt is N’Dour’s
lyrical celebration of Senegal’s Muslim mystical culture of Sufism.

Egypt‘s lyrics demonstrate a distinctly Senegalese way
of Islam, and of Sufi thought and practice, with references to venerated
caliphs, saints, and sages.

Muslim life in Senegal is centered in the country’s Sufi
communities, which have adapted to the modern rhythms of post-independence
Africa. N’Dour, who sought to explore the links between his homeland’s religious
beliefs and that of Muslims in Egypt and the Middle East, has explained that
Egypt is an album that “praises the tolerance of my religion“-a religion that in
recent times has come to be both misunderstood and misinterpreted by
commentators and adherents alike.

North American tour:

6/27/2004	Saratoga Springs, NY	Saratoga Performing Arts Center
7/2/2004	Raleigh, NC	North Carolina Museum of Art
7/13/2004	San Diego, CA	Humphreys Concerts By The Bay
7/14/2004	Los Angeles, CA	Henry Fonda Theatre
7/17/2004	Grass Valley, CA	California WorldFest
7/18/2004	San Francisco, CA	Sigmund Stem Grove
7/20/2004	Roseburg, OR	Stewart Park On The River
7/22/2004	Portland, OR	Oregon Zoo Amphitheater
7/24/2004	Boulder, CO	Chautauqua Park
7/25/2004	Calgary, Canada	Calgary Folk Festival

Buy Egypt