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Album review
Omar Pène
25 Years of Mbalax
Dakar (Sénégal)
20/07/2001 -
We caught up with Omar Pène at his home in Sicap Sacré-Cœur 3, a new residential area of Dakar (which sounds as if it were named by a bureaucrat with poetic leanings!). Sitting in his living-room, in front of a wall covered in a huge photo of the Medina mosque (the second holiest site in the Islamic world), the Senegalese icon reminisced about his successful 25-year-career and the thinking behind Le Super Diamono's new album.
How would you describe your new album 25 ans ?
Omar Pène: Basically, it's a summing-up of our history - 25 years of songwriting with Super Diamono – and a return to our roots. After years of experimenting with jazz, funk, rock and reggae, we've decided to shift the emphasis away from electric instruments and go back to playing a much more acoustic style of music, the sort of stuff we started out playing back at the beginning of our career. And from the feedback we've had so far, the album has really taken off with people from other cultures. People seem to be a lot more into softer, less aggressive styles of music these days.
You're one of the most popular singers on the Senegalese music scene today – and Super Diamono are one of the leading groups – so how come you've never enjoyed an international career ?
Well, back in 1980 we did have quite a bit of success with Soweto. That album sold pretty well abroad and I remember we did consider trying to push our international career at the time. But we soon came to the realisation that the only way our music would ever really take off abroad was if we played down the Senegalese side of things and tried to model ourselves more on what was happening in the U.S. But we were never interested in the idea of leading a 'double' career – recording one type of music for fans back home and another to market abroad !
We were adamant that we didn't want to rush into things. It wasn't a particularly easy moment in our career – we had a lot of doubts about the whole thing. But it's never been up to me alone to make decisions regarding the group. Super Diamono has become an extremely popular group in its own right. It doesn't belong to me, you know. We've always had to press on and move ahead with our career because there are always audiences of young fans – and sometimes I'd say very young fans – out there waiting to see what we'll come up with next. Sometimes we'd hear people saying Well, that's it, Super Diamono are finished now!" but each time we'd come bouncing back with something new.
What's about the band ?
We've undergone quite a few changes of line-up over the years, to the extent where myself and the drummer Ousmane Diagne – aka Lappa – are the only members of the original band left. Over the years other members of the group lost faith in what we were doing and moved on to do other things. But I'd say the group's been solid for about ten years now. It's funny, the musicians I'm working with now were major fans of Super Diamono when they were young. That was back at the time when there was only one state-owned radio station broadcasting in Senegal and they refused to play our music. We were never invited to perform at official concerts or festivals or anything. The state has subsidised a lot of singers and musicians over the years, but we've never asked for anything. We've always managed on our own. That's why we've always had this reputation for being rebels and outsiders, for putting across messages of revolution and dissent in our songs.
If that's the case, why did you agree to perform for the ruling party at the last presidential elections ?
It's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing – I sang for the socialists because it's my job. I was paid for that performance just like I am for every other concert I've given in my career. Super Diamono and I have stayed out of politics over the years, we've never wanted to be involved. And in any case we've been much too busy with our tour schedule, organising concerts up and down the country.
But that's not to say we don't take an interest in social problems at all. On the contrary, a lot of our songs deal with the problems and hardships experienced by everyday people living everyday life in Senegal. And most of the work our fan club carries out is aimed at tackling social problems. I think the very fact that we've survived all these years without outside help of any kind means we're a symbol of hope for the younger generation.
And who exactly do you mean when you refer to the 'younger generation' ?
I'm talking about young people with nothing to do, no jobs to go to – the young people that make up 80% of Senegal right now. The way I see it, I simply don't have the right to disappoint these young people who've seen what I've been through in my own life. The thing is, I've been through exactly what they're going through right now. I didn't get on with my stepmother when I was growing up and I went through this period where I ran away from home all the time and hung out in all sorts of places on the streets. Young people come to me and ask me for advice because they know I've been through similar experiences to their own. My life turned out all right in the end so in a way I can be a good role model for them.
How old are you now, Omar ? Do you belong to a particular religion ?
I'm 45 years old and I was born in the Dakar 'medina'. As far as religion goes, I'm a Muslim and I belong to the Mourides, the biggest 'brotherhood' in Senegal. I grew up surrounded by my mother's relatives and I used to go to religious meetings with my grandmother. Over the years I've come to understand that you can attain peace, honesty, hard work, sincerity and success through religion. The religious philosophy of the Mourides revolves around hard work and perseverance. I really believe that religion plays a major role in Senegal – the fact that people in this country uphold certain values has stopped us from getting caught up in extremism.
Do you think that's why the last presidential elections in Senegal turned out the way they did ?
Yes, I do. Senegal enjoyed a peaceful handover of power when you look at what's going on in the rest of Africa right now. And the fact that we can have a change of government in Senegal means that colonialism has finally come to an end. It shows that Senegalese voters have acquired a certain maturity. We've learnt another important lesson too – and that is, that you can't rely on the state to solve all your problems. We've realised that's impossible.
I think Senegalese people have come to realise the value of exercising their right to vote. And, basically, if politicians don't do the job they're put in to do, they'd better get out. That's a philosophy I believe applies to all areas of life, in fact. And what I'm interested in doing with Super Diamono is finding a way to put that message across in our music.
Bouziane Daoudi
Translation: Julie Street
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