Muzikr

He’s been rumoured to be Senegal’s next big thing for years, and for good reason. Carlou D has steadily climbed to the top ranks of the music scene, drawing crowds of screaming fans and advertising chocolate spread on massive billboards. What’s most impressive about his rise and rise is that he’s doing it with a totally unique and unconventional style. His musical roots are in hip-hop, yet when he first climbed on stage with an acoustic guitar, presenting a line-up integrating several traditional musicians and a handful of songs marrying urban sounds with inflections of folk, country and a whole lot more, his fan base didn’t desert him, but increased exponentially. Muzikr is different still. For his first international release, the lanky singer has put his religious identity first. A devoted follower of the Baye Fall, a Muslim brotherhood unique to Senegal, he’s derived a huge chunk of his musical inspiration here from their chants, mixed with easily digestible acoustic sounds. His urban roots have mostly given way to softer tones, though the best tracks, such as the rocking ‘Sen Regal’, are the ones that manage to walk the fine line between Dakar street sounds, acoustic finesse and spiritual inspiration. ‘Gorée’ is a fine, contemplative ballad featuring Youssou N’Dour. It also highlights beautifully Carlou D’s one-in-a-million voice. He has one of the sweetest falsettos known to man and an almost frightening vocal range. There’s plenty here to warrant stardom; a couple of albums on and he’ll be headlining festivals everywhere.