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Album review
Ismaël Lo
The King of Authentic African Pop
Paris
24/08/2001 -
Ismaël, where did Dabah, the title of your new album come from?
Dabah is the name of a famous marabout, a great Muslim holy man who was or, in fact, still is – despite the fact that he's no longer with us in this world - a spiritual guide for a whole generation. Dabah achieved some really incredible things, both on the political and the social front and everyone in Senegal has heard of him. For me this album was a way of paying my own personal tribute to this great holy man – although Dabah's not actually his real name. He was called Elhadj Abdoulaziz Sy Dabah Malik. And, mark my words, that's a name that will remain engraved on our collective memory for all time.
Ismaël, where did Dabah, the title of your new album come from?
Dabah is the name of a famous marabout, a great Muslim holy man who was or, in fact, still is – despite the fact that he's no longer with us in this world - a spiritual guide for a whole generation. Dabah achieved some really incredible things, both on the political and the social front and everyone in Senegal has heard of him. For me this album was a way of paying my own personal tribute to this great holy man – although Dabah's not actually his real name. He was called Elhadj Abdoulaziz Sy Dabah Malik. And, mark my words, that's a name that will remain engraved on our collective memory for all time.
Dabah, who died in 1997, was one of the leaders of the Tidjani brotherhood. Was your decision to dedicate your new album to him motivated by a quest for spirituality or was it more a sort of reaffirmation of hope?
The way I see it, marabouts have always imparted hope to us – and that's one of the reasons they are venerated. The thing is, you can't really dissociate the religious brotherhoods on the one hand and the Senegalese people on the other. We all belong to the brotherhoods; we're all believers! Religion has given us the strength to deal with so many of our troubles.
Right now, I don't feel able to commit myself to one particular brotherhood or another … My religion is something more generalised, something I feel inside … For me, paying tribute to Dabah on this album was a means of thanking God for my having been lucky enough to know such a great holy man in my lifetime.
You recorded your new album between Paris and Dakar. Why did you choose to do that when you could easily have recorded the entire thing in Senegal? It must have entailed a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing for your collaborators!
Well, basically it's a matter of going with your feelings. I mean, there are times when it feels right to do things here – and other times when you feel you've got to do them over there. And there are times when you'd like to do them somewhere completely different, like on the moon!
I believe in going with the artistic flow. I don't sit down beforehand and plan everything to the last detail. I mean, these days you can write your album in Dakar, send a demo copy to the States via internet, then shoot off and record a couple of tracks in Holland and a couple of tracks in Cuba, before flying back to Paris to record the violins – and then mix the whole thing in Dakar! There have been huge advances in technology over the last few years and these changes have opened up an exciting new range of possibilities for musicians like myself. I'm someone who's really into the idea of working with different people and opening myself up to as many different world rhythms as possible.
Love's been something of a permanent theme in your songs to date. Don't you ever feel like singing about something different for a change?
Well, the way I see it, you can't dissociate love from life. It's through love, because of love, that we're able to do so many things in life. And when I say love I use the word it in its broadest possible sense - love incorporating peace in some way. I see the role of singers and musicians as essentially being one of getting a message across. And saying something like "OK, you've spent all this time singing about love, why don't you sing about something different for a change?" - well, I'm sorry I just don't agree. Love has a permanent place in my work and I don't see anything wrong with that.
Think about it, life has no meaning if you take love out of the equation. Without love, where's the pleasure in being alive? I mean, if there's no love anywhere you might as well commit suicide, end it all there and then. Sorry, I know it's wrong for a Muslim to say something like that, but I really do believe love's essential. We all need a small grain of love to exist.
So for you love means desire, an essential appetite for life?
Yes, exactly. Personally speaking, it's a desire to see my family and watch my children grow up, a desire to see my music evolve and watch the mango seed I planted in my garden grow into a tree and bear its first fruit … These are all aspects of love too.
Your new album includes a couple of tracks in French - Faut qu'on s'aime and l'Amour a tous les droits. Why did you choose to record in French? Was it a way of complying with the language quota laws on French radio and getting airplay in France?
Well, yes, I'd certainly admit that's the case. But you have to take a whole lot of other things into consideration too – like the fact that we're doing this interview in French not Wolof, for instance, because you don't speak Wolof. But another reason we're doing the interview in French is because I come from a Francophone country. And when it comes to explaining the lyrics to my songs, for instance, I generally explain them in French. I know some of my African fans find it shocking that I've chosen to include a couple of tracks in French – but, come off it, when they apply for jobs they have to write their letters in French! We're part of the Francophone community and that's all there is to it. As far as I'm concerned, it's no big deal to try and satisfy some of my fans who've been following me for years by making the effort to sing in their language.
I can speak Spanish too, you know. In fact, I've got a strong following of fans in Spain who come to my concerts. And, who knows, one day I might end up doing a song in Spanish so I can feel a bit closer to them. Because that's what it's all about really – one of the reasons I sing in French is to have a closer communication with my French fans, so that they can understand something of what I'm singing in my own language. And I'm certainly not against the idea of performing French songs. If I come across a good song written by a French songwriter then I'll sing it and I'm perfectly happy about it! I think it's a positive move all round.
Certain tracks on your album - such as Aïwa, Diour Sani and Boulfale - seem to incorporate a lot of Western influences like pop and soul …
Well, the way I see it, African music is on the move and I think it's important to allow it to evolve, but at the same time I think it should maintain its purity, its authenticity and its originality. These days I think the way forward is to open yourself up to different musical influences. I feel I've got a lot of potential – so it's like, well, if you know how to do this and that, why shouldn't you allow your admirers to take advantage of that? I've seen a lot of singers and musicians from overseas – people like Julien Clerc and Jacques Higelin, for example - come over here and seek inspiration in African music. They've experimented with African percussion on their albums and stuff.
I don't think we should get caught up in an African pride thing where we feel we've got to limit ourselves to playing traditional instruments like the balafon, tom-toms and the kora. That would really stop our music from evolving. These days everyone's talking about globalisation – I mean, take Johnny Hallyday, for instance, he's free to do a song in a totally American-sounding style if he chooses. No-one's going to go up to him and say "Now, Johnny, why did you do that?" I believe if you want music to evolve in some way you have to be as open as possible to other influences – that way you can appeal to a wider audience.
I mean, what's the point of pinning labels on music all the time anyway? People are free to do what they want. The way I see it, the only terrible thing would be if you had an African musician who was completely cut off from his roots – and that's certainly never been my case!
Apart from the Western pop and soul influences, there's still very much a sense of Ismaël Lô, the acoustic songwriter on this album. I'm thinking, in particular, of songs like Dabah, Badarah and L'amour a tous les droits…
Well, whatever happens, you can't get away from the fact that I started out my career playing a very acoustic style of music. That's how I got my first big break in Senegal. And it's thanks to Tadjabone – a song which is still going strong, in fact, because it's been used in so many documentaries and on the soundtrack to Pedro Almodovar's film "Todo sobre mi madre" – it's thanks to Tadjabone that I was offered a recording contract with a major multi-national label in the first place.
That particular style's opened a lot of doors for me and I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. But, you know how it is, there are times when you feel like picking up your acoustic guitar and doing a sweet, romantic song and then when the weather starts to hot up around May you want to hot up your music and make things a lot more rhythmic and full-on. It's summer and people want to let their hair down and dance. You have to go with your inspiration, you know.
Anyway, who knows, maybe one day I'll do a 100% acoustic Ismaël Lô album? That's something I'm planning to do in the future, in fact. A lot of my long-time fans have asked me about that. But when people come up to me and say things like "Hey, why don't you do a totally acoustic album?" I feel like I'm being treated like a child. It's like people don't actually want to let me get on and do the stuff I feel like doing … I'm a singer/songwriter. I follow my inspiration and do stuff the way I feel's right.
Was the idea of including reggae tracks such as Ma dame, N'dally and Biguisse on the new album motivated by a desire to open yourself up to different musical styles and a wider audience?
Yes, I do hope my music will reach a wider public and start filtering through to people who've never heard it before. But at the same time the idea of using reggae was part of a wider musical framework. A lot of the music I use did actually come from Africa in the first place, you know.
Joseph Kabasele scored a huge hit in his own day with Indépendance cha cha. Is your Latino-influenced track, Africa Démocratie, an attempt to invent a "democratic cha cha" for the modern world?
Africa Démocratie is a song which demands an end to state coups. Because Africans have come a long way now. They're beginning to grow up and realise the importance of having the chance to vote … Africa Démocratie is a song aimed at raising people's awareness, because it's always the people who have to pay the price in the end. We have to put an end to ludicrous situations where voters spend hours queuing in the blazing sun to vote for someone they trust - and then see someone else take his place the next day! >BR> There are two things we need in Africa right now and that's democracy and trust. Africans have to start taking charge of their own affairs. And the good thing is, the process of change has already begun. In Senegal President Diouf publicly acknowledged his defeat and stepped down in favour of President Wade. I think that's a move in the right direction.
Interview: Soeuf Elbadawi
Translation: Julie Street
Homepage photo courtesy by Pierre René-Worms
*Dabah (Mercury/ Universal). Ismaël Lô will be performing in Paris at Le Bataclan on 30 October 2001 and playing a mini-tour of 20 or so dates across France.
13/10/2006 -
