Youssou N'Dour
a.k.a.
Youssou Ndour
FAITH DANCES
The Sufi Soul Behind Senegal's Sound
With his 2004 release, Egypt, African superstar singer Youssou N'Dour delves into the Islamic Sufi heritage of his native Senegal, "to praise the tolerance of my often misunderstood religion," he says. The album is a departure from the hard-driving mbalax (um-balak) music that has made N'Dour a household name in West Africa and an international star. Here N'Dour blends his sinewy tenor and traditional Senegalese instruments such as kora and balafon (recorded in Dakar) with the strings and wind instruments of the 13-piece Fathy Salama Orchestra (recorded in Cairo), achieving a sound much closer to Arabic film music. N'Dour sings in his native Wolof, praising Sufi saints and extolling the humanistic values of his brand of Islam. When Larry Blumenfeld caught up with N'Dour in Manhattan, the singer had just premiered his new songs in concert at a sacred music festival in Fes, Morocco. And he was about to set off on a 17-city American tour, which was news in itself: N'Dour cancelled a 2003 U.S. tour in protest of the U.S. military incursion into Iraq.
Barnes & Noble.com: What was your experience like in Fes? How was the new music received?
Youssou N'Dour: In fact, I was really anxious about it. The concert was exciting because it was the first time I played with these musicians in one place at one time. After the concert, I was happy. It went really well.
B&N.com: In Fes, the audience knows the Sufi tradition. But since you sang in Wolof, could they relate to it?
YN: I talked a little bit about the content of the songs, in French, a language we shared. But I think people get the feeling through the music. Music is a language. You feel it.
B&N.com: Since Fes is an important home of Sufi brotherhoods, was the trip a pilgrimage of sorts?
YN: Yes, in a way. When I arrived it was as if I were a member of the Tijani brotherhood [N'Dour was born into the Mouride brotherhood]. It was a very strong connection.
B&N.com: In the West, we seem to know only one face of Islam. Is that perception at odds with the Islam you grew up into?
YN: I think that Sufism fits all over the world. The concept is not anything that fits standard Western ideas -- it's always related to culture, to music, to religion. It is a dominant religion in Senegal. The music that it creates calls into question the idea that the Muslim religion is not only a matter of Arabs or that it does not belong only to the Arabs.
B&N.com: Is this new CD an attempt to counter the face of Islamic fundamentalism in any way?
YN: I think that in all religions you find fundamentalism, and for me, it's always a minority -- even if they are in the limelight now, getting the attention of the world. So the first thing I want to establish is that my album comes to this country as music, and not as a political statement.
B&N.com: But music and religion and politics are often intertwined, aren't they? Isn't that part of the griot tradition?
YN: Yes, exactly! But I am presenting it simply as music.
B&N.com: How did the new CD come about?
YN: It was a personal thing, really -- just for me. During the Ramadan, we have prayers, and every night we talk about our religion, Islam. And one day, I had the idea to play while we talked about it. And that idea brought back memories of how, when I was ten years old, my father used to play Uum Kulthum's [the beloved Egyptian singer] music. The two ideas came together, and then I talked to someone about finding Egyptian Arabic musicians to help me with this music. He mentioned Fathy Salama, who did the orchestra arrangements.
B&N.com: How did you approach writing these new songs?
YN: First, I wanted to talk about all the leaders of the brotherhoods. We have six famous brotherhoods, and I wanted to describe them all. I talked about the leaders, their stories, their families, and how they participated in the social development of Senegal.
B&N.com: The recordings took place in two different locales -- was that complicated?
YN: We recorded the African instruments in Dakar and the Egyptian orchestra in Cairo. When the tapes came back from Cairo, we recorded the traditional instruments over again because the chords had moved. It's a very complicated relationship between these instruments, and you have to treat it carefully.
B&N.com: Is this music closer to sacred music than your other work?
YN: It's more personal. Sacred -- I don't know if I would say that. But it's personal and based on my faith.
B&N.com: Last year, when you canceled your U.S. tour, you were quite clear about the reason--- your opposition to the Iraq invasion. Now, do you come here with any ambivalence?
YN: No, I don't have a problem. Even though the conflict is still going on in Iraq, I think the U.S. is a great country with a lot of great people. Last year, I though it was really important at that time to make a statement. And now, I know a lot of people who say now that we may have been right -- that it was not right for the United States to invade Iraq.
B&N.com: When you canceled your tour, did you hope to affect the opinions or actions of Americans?
YN: No, it was much more symbolic. I know that I'm not Bruce Springsteen. But it was a symbolic statement that I wanted to make.
June 2004
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