YOUSSOU N'DOUR

The New York Times recently called N’Dour “one of the world’s greatest singers,” and has described his voice as an “arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority.” Renowned for his remarkable range and poise and for his prodigious musical intelligence as a writer, bandleader, and producer, N’Dour absorbs the entire Senegalese musical spectrum in his work, often filtering this through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside his culture. N’Dour has made m'balax - a blend of Senegal’s traditional griot percussion and praise-singing with Afro-Cuban music - famous throughout the world during more than twenty years of recording and touring outside of Senegal with his band "The Super Etoile".

Egypt

• Youssou N'Dour
• Nonesuch 79694-2
• Warner

While N’Dour’s international releases have always combined Senegalese musical traditions with outside sources of inspiration, "Egypt" takes a fresh approach. On this album, the rhythms and melodies of Senegal drive arrangements featuring Egyptian and Arabian orchestral sounds. Featuring traditional musicians in Dakar and in Cairo, "Egypt" is N’Dour’s lyrical celebration of Senegal’s Muslim mystical culture of Sufism. The lyrics demonstrate a distinctly Senegalese way of Islam, and of Sufi thought and practice, with references to venerated caliphs, saints, and sages.