ARTIST...: Aby Ngana Diop
TITLE....: Liital
YEAR.....: 2014
LABEL....: Awesome Tapes From Africa
CAT.NO...: ATFA010
GENRE....: Ethnic
TIME.....: 31:59
SIZE.....: 73,31 MB
QUALITY..: 320kbps/44,1kHz/Stereo
ENCODER..: LAME
SOURCE...: WEB
RLS.DATE.: 2014/10/06
WEBSITE..: http://bwscd.com/digital/
TRACKLIST
01) (04:36) Dieuleul-Dieuleul
02) (06:35) Ndame
03) (05:31) Yaye Penda Mbaye
04) (05:01) Liital
05) (05:00) Sapaly
06) (05:16) Ndadje
Senegalese griot Aby Ngana Diop was famous for her taasu, a form of oral poetry
spoken to the rhythmic accompaniment of sabar and tama drums. Taasu is typically
created and performed by griot women (a class of poets, storytellers and/or
musicians), with a lead taasukat (practitioner of taasu) performing her distinct
style of heightened, rhythmically declaimed speech in call-and-response with a small
chorus of female vocalists. (Taasu is seen by some to be a predecessor to rap.)
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Diop developed a reputation for being one of the most
sought-after taasukats in Dakar, performing with her backup singers, dancers and
drummers at parties, weddings and baptisms of the Dakar elite, including government
officials and dignitaries. Aby Ngana Diop was undisputedly the best taasukat of her
generation.! In 1994, the Dakar diva released her one and only studio cassette
recording, Liital, to the Senegalese market. Liital was groundbreaking in the history
of Senegalese music because it was the first commercial recording to feature a
traditional female taasukat performing to the modern accompaniment of mbalax,
Senegal's quintessential pop genre. The combination of Diop and her backup vocalists
with their powerful taasu, along with the driving, complex rhythms of the sabar and
tama drums, mixed with key elements of mbalax (such as the syncopated, polyphonic
marimba sounds played on the Yamaha DX7 keyboard) was something the Senegalese public
had never heard before. But it wasn't only because of the fusion of taasu with
mbalax; unlike in other mbalax tunes, the musical arrangements on this cassette are
instead peculiarly minimalist and almost trance-like, with static harmonies and
melodic figures playing more of an atmospheric role. The cassette became a huge hit,
propelling Diop to a new level of superstardom. It could be heard blasting from taxis
and from loudspeakers at house parties, weddings and baptisms for years to come.
Liital bridged the gap between the more traditional taasu and the modern mbalax
sound, thus appealing to all generations of the Senegalese public - and they simply
couldn't get enough of it. ! When Aby Ngana Diop died unexpectedly on July 4, 1997,
the country mourned her passing, but continued to celebrate her music. Other artists
such as Cheikh L?, Thio Mbaye and Lamine TourΘ released recordings based on some of
Diop's taasu and accompanying drum phrases, paying further tribute to her musical
legacy. Although this cassette has caught the attention of some African music
aficianados who have stumbled upon it in recent years, it remains largely unknown to
the wider world. Hopefully this reelease from Awesome Tapes From Africa will change
that.!
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