Baaba Maal
Senegal
From a family of griots – travelling poets, musicians and storytellers from West Africa - superstar Baaba Maal’s distinctive sound ingeniously fuses traditional instruments and rhythms with a dramatically modern electronic approach. After more than four decades of recording, performing and refining his hybrid of tradition and innovation, Senegalese superstar Maal is one of the most compelling and surprising musicians in the world. He has collaborated with John Leckie, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn’s Africa Express and Mumford & Sons. He has worked on movie soundtracks for The Last Temptation of Christ (with Peter Gabriel) and Black Hawk Down, and more recently became the voice of Wakanda for the Black Panther films, helping soundtrack composer Ludwig Goransson create the film’s exhilarating musical soundscape. Maal’s musical palette mixes personal local concerns with grand universal themes to produce a unique form of deep, immersive soul music
Artist Workshop
Explore Senegal's rich rhythms in this workshop led by Baaba Maal's band members. Discover the artistry of polyrhythms, from the traditional Sabar and Djembe to the mesmerising 'talking drum.' Uncover the history of these instruments, once used to send messages between villages, with sounds travelling up to six kilometres.
