Bonne Année! Sixty-six minutes of red-hot Mbalax from Senegal's master of the sabar, Mbaye Dieye Faye, help us kick off the New Year.
Faye was born in 1960 in the Dakar neighborhood of Medina and was a childhood friend of Youssou N'dour. He joined N'dour in the influential Star Band in 1974, leaving with him to form Etoile de Dakar in 1979 and Super Etoile in 1981. Over the years Faye has been a featured percussionist on recordings by Coumba Gawlo Seck, Omar Pene, Ismael Lô and many other notable Senegalese musicians. He founded his own group, Le Sing-Sing Rythme, in 1990, featuring a battery of sabar drums. 1995's Oupoukay (Xippi) was its second release:
Download Oupoukay as a zipped file here.
1996's Tink's Daye Bondé Biir Thiossane (Jololi) was recorded live in Youssou N'dour's Thiossane night club:
Mbaye Dieye Faye & le Sing-Sing Rythme - Tink's
Mbaye Dieye Faye & le Sing-Sing Rythme - Tink's
Download Tink's Daye Bondé Biir Thiossane as a zipped file here.
