Youssou N’Dour, up close and personal

Spring release for new album and film

Paris 

12/01/2010 - 

Two events will further buoy the prolific career of Senegal’s local hero Youssou N’Dour this spring: the releases of his new album Dakar-Kingston (8 March), a homage to Bob Marley, and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film I Bring What I Love (31 March), about the recording of his previous album Egypt. Both works were previewed yesterday, January 11, at L’Arlequin cinema in Paris

Senegal’s majestic landscapes with its ochre colours, Sufi spiritualism, and skunk reggae were all subjects explored at the Paris art cinema L’Arlequin on 11 January. These disparate elements were brought together in the man that the Senegalese call the Golden Voice of Africa. With his characteristic warmth and affability, Youssou N’Dour introduced before an audience of industry professionals two new works that will further illuminate his 37-year-long career, this coming spring: his reggae album in homage to  Bob Marley, released by Universal (8 March), and a new film I Bring What I Love (31 March) by promising New York-based director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, on the album Egypt (2004).

Reggae roots

The music swayed into action, giving the audience a taste of the first few tracks of Dakar-Kingston. Against a dynamic bass, the singer paid homage to friend and colleague Tyrone Downie – who worked with Bob Marley and masterminded albums by Tonton David and Tiken Jah Fakoly – sitting in the front row. And then the light filtered and Tyrone himself appeared on screen alongside Youssou in the legendary Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica.

On this album Youssou is supported among others by the imposing guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith (Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Max Romeo, etc.). The songs – some of which are a couple of decades old, others composed only months ago – are very much personal takes on reggae by this master of  mbalax music. Youssou’s strength is that his musical interests stretch far beyond the borders of his own country. His art resonates more broadly to incorporate pan-African themes, modelled on the unifying influence of reggae. At L’Arlequin, a ten-minute clip of Youssou’s ambitious new work gave a foretaste that left the audience eager to hear more.

A question of faith

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film was screened in the second part of the evening, offering a portrait of the star that is both intimate and universal. I Bring What I Love focuses on Youssou’s faith, his tolerant and open vision of Islam, expressed in music with his 2004 album Egypt, recorded with Fathy Salama’s Cairo-based group. Rich, passionate, moving – this long documentary (clocking in at 1 hour 42 min.) was filmed over two years, taking in concerts and other events across the entire globe. It recounts Youssou’s childhood, his griot heritage, his teenage years, his family – a father who can still make him feel like a child at fifty, a mother who watches over his career, a fragile yet strong-minded grandmother who is larger than life – and of course his international success.

The film also examines the roots of his religion, and the highly personal nature of a faith that is intimately linked to his love of music. It records a turning point in his career – the release of Egypt came not long after September 11, 2001, when many people started to regard Islam as a vindictive, fundamentalist religion. Youssou’s album provoked a number of criticisms in Senegal centring on his “betrayal” of religion. And yet Youssou N’Dour went on to win a Grammy Award for the work. The enthusiasm this win generated back home soon quelled all criticism.

I Bring What I Love finishes with Youssou N’Dour about to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. “I very much like what the director has done with this film,” Youssou says, admiring its “authenticity”. Indeed, what really comes across is Youssou’s own sincerity, as well as the restraint and exacting standards of this documentary filmed with patience and talent. It has already won several awards and has been warmly received in the United States, where Youssou N’Dour is hardly a well-known figure. Following the film screening, a relaxed Youssou N’Dour initiated an informal discussion on sacred music and the way it can be harnessed for artistic and commercial ends. In any case, he is proud of having developed his art in this area, and there can be no doubt that the musician has amply merited the accolade bestowed on him in 2000 as African Artist of the Century.

Youssou N'Dour Dakar-Kingston (Emarcy/Universal) release: 8 March 2010
Youssou N’Dour : I Bring What I Love, a film by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 1 hour 42 min. (release: 31 March 2010)

Anne-Laure  Lemancel

Translation : Hugo  Wilcken