Men Lŏnu

Duo Landry+ formed in 2016 after an encounter at the Institut Français de Cotonou. Together, clarinettist, flautist and saxophonist Landry Padonou and guitarist and singer Landry Magnidet Dannon create a sound deeply rooted in Beninese culture, with songs uniting Fongbé and French discussing various social themes. The duo regularly travel the country visiting schools, cultural associations, and, of course, touring. This is their second album, arriving five years after their debut Aflimi. I particularly enjoyed ‘Sési’, sung in Fongbé and full of warm, full choral interjections, as well as improvised clarinet lines from Landry Padonou. The next track ‘Sín Gbè Xuenu’ expands on this choral theme, with the choir more present, backed only with light percussion and steel-string acoustic guitar. The ordering of the tracks on this album is very intelligent, with each song expanding on the ideas of the previous. Some listeners might find the folk/country music influences difficult, it tends to be a very ‘love or hate’ sonority, but I found that after a few tracks I settled in, definitely some gems to be found in this album.