Ligéey

Most listeners will probably have first encountered the Senegalese singer Amadou Diagne on a 2012 set in World Music Network's Introducing series, after he won the label's online Battle of the Bands contest. Born into a griot family, he began playing the drums at the age of four and his skills as a percussionist are much in evidence in the rippling, rhythmic undertow to the ten songs on this album. Diagne sings mainly in Wolof but occasionally in English; his supple voice ranges from a gritty, bluesy rasp to an attractive high falsetto reminiscent of Cheikh LÔ. Like Cheikh, he's a Baye Fall and ‘Sam Fall’, pays tribute to its spiritual guide, Cheikh Amadou Bamba.

The multi-skilled Diagne also adds occasional kora, heard to best effect on the lovely ‘Nonga Dara’. The smart, finely calibrated production is by Mark Smulian, whom Diagne met during a session at Real World in 2013 and who spent many years in Israel building collaborative projects between Jewish and Palestinian musicians. Phil Dawson, a veteran of sessions by a range of African artists from Tony Allen to Orlando Julius, adds some striking lead guitar that weaves sinuously with Diagne's voice.