Ismaël Lô

The quiet strength
Ismaël Lo is not a man to deny himself any right. Especially the right to take his time, to think, to be at peace with himself. « Give time to Time », he likes to say. Just as they had waited for Dabah, his previous opus, fans had to wait a long time for Senegal, his latest – and 22nd – album. Recorded in Dakar, Paris and London (most especially for the string arrangements), Senegal is a true-to-life portrait of the eponymous country’s most charismatic gift to the music world – and to the world in general.

Along with tributes to, respectively, African peasants (Baykat), his mother (Yaye boye), and the unfortunate victims who drowned…