Daby Balde: Senegalese Star On The Rise

Daby Balde is one of Senegal's best-kept musical secrets, long celebrated at home and now exploding on to the international scene. His stunning arrangements are based on his Fula traditions from the south of the country and feature the fiddle, accordion and flute alongside the more familiar West African sounds of the kora , acoustic guitar and percussion. With strikingly rich and beautiful melodies, captivating vocals and a repertoire that ranges from euphoric to melancholic, Daby Balde is a West African star on the rise.

'To judge from his debut album, Introducing Daby Balde , it sounds as if Daby Balde may well emerge as a major figure to stand alongside the internationally established Senegalese singers, Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal… wonderfully assured, full of subtle details.' Charlie Gillett, BBC Radio London

Moutarou 'Daby' Balde was born on 26 April 1969 in the city of Kolda, Fouladou (an area of the Cassamance region), in south Senegal. Growing up in the Cassamance region, a lush area famous for its deep roots in ancestral values and customs, Daby attended the Koranic School in Kolda. Born into a noble family, Daby's decision to pursue music was greeted with numerous objections and, in 1987 he left school and decided to go into exile. Following six months in Guinea and six years in the Gambia (where he began learning the guitar), he returned to his hometown in 1994 and became the lead vocalist for the Kolda Regional Orchestra. After performing with them for nine months, he began performing regularly in Dakar and Kolda. Subsequently, he played in a large concert organised by the Belgian NGO Vredensaleiden that led to performances at Flanders Ethno festival and Draunter festival in Belgium. He now lives in a suburb of Dakar, performing weekly at several city venues and every few months in Kolda, at festivals, weddings and cultural events.

Musically, Daby is influenced by his various travels and experiences and his Fouladou culture. Ethnically diverse, Cassamance has a rich heritage, is geographically placed between Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, and is cut off from the north of Senegal. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the Portuguese were the only Europeans to have settled and have dealings in the region, and subsequently the music from Cassamance has a particular rhythm (quite different to that of the Dakar sound), which resonates throughout Daby's music.

Recorded in Senegal and Belgium, Daby sings in Wolof , Mandinka , French and Fula . He hopes to keep African culture alive, and his compositions are messages of peace, love, brotherhood, social justice and faith in God. The opening track, 'Mamadiyel' – which has an accompanying music video (Mac and PC compatible) – is sung in a combination of Fula and Wolof. Daby's sonorous voice is perfectly brought to light as his lyrics greet the people of Gambia, artists from all over the world and his family. Sung in Mandinka , the lyrics to 'Tamania' praise hardworking African women who raise children and provide food from the fields, and ‘ Waino Blues' describes a visit to a diligent marabout – a personal spiritual leader in the Islamic faith as practised in West Africa. Introducing Daby Balde presents a celebrated Senegalese artist, whose talents deserve to reach wider acclaim. This album showcases his innovative and stunning compositions and the southern Senegalese traditions that have influenced him.

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