Cheikh Lô
New album JAMM the African album of the year!
Cheikh Lô is one of the great mavericks of African music. A superb singer and songwriter as well as a distinctive guitarist, percussionist and drummer, he has personalised and distilled a variety of influences from West and Central Africa, to create a style that is uniquely his own. “I was overwhelmed by his voice,” explains Youssou N’Dour, who produced his debut album, Ne La Thiass. His early performances prompted rave reviews - ‘A rare talent destined to become one of world music’s biggest stars’, The Times - ‘a compelling performer with energy and personality to match that of the early Bob Marley’, The Guardian. In 1997 he was awarded Best Newcomer at the Kora All-African Awards in South Africa and the following year he toured the US.
Cheikh Lô recorded his latest album Jamm with sax maestro Pee Wee Ellis and former Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen as prominent guests. Lô premiered his new songs live this summer at the UK Womad Festival. The album, as his most advanced work, earned fanatic reviews, including 4 stars in the prestigious UK magazine Mojo. For his achievements he received the prestigious Ordre National de Merite de Léon from the President of Senegal.
Lô dedicates both his life and music to Baye Fall, a specifically Senegalese form of Islam and part of the larger Islamic brotherhood of Mouridism. Trademarks of Baye Fall are still patchwork clothes and long dreadlocks today.
