The harmonica-playing
guitarist Ismael Lô, better known to world
music fans as the "African Bob Dylan,
has revolutionised the traditional sound of
Senegalese M'balax, melding it with a more
melodic, laid-back style bordering on
rhythm'n'blues. Rocketing to fame with his
hit single "Tajabone", Iso Lô went
on to sign a recording deal with Polygram and
then launched a highly successful
international career. Today Iso’s
distinctive fusion of M'balax, folk and blues
is not just enjoyed by a select group of
world music connoisseurs but highly popular
with audiences all over the world.
Ismael Lô was born in Dongo Buti in Nigeria
on 30 August 1956. Nigeria was Ismael’s
mother’s homeland (she belonged to the
ethnic group Peul by birth) but his father
hailed from Senegal and shortly after
Ismael’s birth the family returned to
Senegal where they settled in the town of
Rufisque, near the capital Dakar. Ismael grew
up in a highly musical environment at home.
His elder brother was a great fan of American
soul music, but Ismael’s musical tastes
were very different from his brother’s.
As a young boy Ismael developed a passion for
the sweet flowing melodies of West African
Manding music, and dreamt of becoming a
musician himself. But Ismael’s parents
strongly disapproved of the idea of their son
taking up music as a professional career. So
Ismael had to content himself with music
being his hobby. Music quickly became an
all-consuming hobby and the teenage Ismael
would spend hours making guitars from scrap
wood and organising jamming sessions with his
cousins.
Following his father’s death in 1970,
Ismael enrolled at the School of Art in Dakar
where he would spend two years studying fine
art. He proved himself to be a talented
painter but music continued to be his
greatest passion in life and throughout art
school he would lead a parallel career as a
singer. Ismael’s big break into the
music world came when he was spotted
performing on a television show.
Super Diamono
Ismael proved to be an extremely popular
performer in Senegal where music fans would
pack out local venues to hear him play.
Ismael’s fame soon started to spread
beyond Senegal and he soon set off on an
extensive tour of Gambia with his brothers.
This trip would prove to be a turning-point
in Ismael’s career, for it was in the
midst of this tour that the young singer
would meet Super Diamono, the legendary group
from Dakar. Ismael had long been a fan of
Super Diamono and was extremely flattered
when the group suggested he should join them.
The offer threw the young musician into a
quandary however, for at that moment Ismael
was trying to decide whether to pursue a
musical career or make a living as a painter.
Ismael’s love of music won out in the
end however and twelve months later the young
singer left art school to become a full-time
member of Super Diamono.
The group who melded the traditional M'balax
percussion-style of Wolof musicians with a
modern Western beat had a strong following of
fans. Ismael Lô’s excellent vocals and
his guitar wizardry added a distinctive touch
to Super Diamono’s m'balax fusion and
the group went on to record a whole string of
hits together.
Ismael quit the group in 1984 to branch out
on his own. Over the next four years the
young singer would go on to record five solo
albums which all proved extremely popular
with Senegalese music fans. The secret of his
success ? His innovative fusion of M'balax
with folk and soul influences and his ability
to write highly original songs which
frequently tackled political and social
issues.
Ismael also surrounded himself with an
excellent group of musicians including his
old friend Faye, a talented lead guitarist,
musical arranger and committed jazz fan whose
work set off Ismael’s lilting melodies
to perfection. Ismael also worked with
sax-star Sélé Thiam (another former member
of Super Diamono) and percussion maestro Thio
Mbaye.
Ismael's career takes off on the
international music scene
In 1990 Ismael Lô, who had by now acquired
his legendary nickname - "the Bob Dylan
of Senegal" - signed a recording deal
with Barclay. The M'balax star travelled to
France and went straight into the studio to
record his sixth solo album, simply entitled
"Ismael Lô". This highly
accomplished album with a predominantly folk
feel would become a great hit in the European
charts (largely thanks to the phenomenal
success of the single "Tajabone").
The same album would also prove instrumental
in launching Ismael Lô’s international
career.
In May 1990 Ismael Lô triumphed at the
Festival des Musiques Métisses held in
Angoulême, and the following year the
up-and-coming world music star set off on an
extensive tour of North America.
1991 also saw the release of a new album
entitled "Afrique Sunu" (which,
strangely enough, was not distributed in
France). The following year Ismael Lô
returned to the studio to record
"Khumbeul" (which was only
available in cassette form).
In October 1992 the "African Bob
Dylan" triumphed at Radio France
Internationale’s
"Découvertes" (an annual music
contest devoted to discovering major new
talents). Ismael Lô’s performance so
impressed the judges that the Senegalese star
carried off the coveted RFI Sacem trophy on
this occasion.
Ismael’s latest album, "Iso",
was released on the Mango Island label (an
offshoot of Polygram) in 1994.
"Iso" (the nickname by which Ismael
has been known since early childhood)
features the two distinct musical styles
which run throughout the Senegalese
star’s work, namely soft guitar melodies
(as featured in the track "Dibi dibi
rek"), and traditional Senegalese
m'balax (which Ismael pays tribute to on
"Sénégambie"). It is interesting
to note that the twelve tracks on
Ismael’s latest album include a French
song - "La femme sans haine"-
penned by the famous French songwriter
Etienne Roda-Gil. The album "Iso",
which has proved immensely successful with
French music critics, has established Ismael
Lô as a major name on the world music scene.
Indeed, today Ismael ranks alongside Youssou
N'dour, as the most popular Senegalese star
on the European music scene.
The following year Ismael embarked upon an
extensive tour of Africa (25 September - 8
October). The Senegalese star proved an
enormous hit with audiences across the
continent, especially in South Africa where
his concerts were extremely successful even
in regions where Wolof was not spoken.
1996 saw the release of a special Ismael Lô
compilation entitled "Jammu
Africa". This album featured a selection
of the Senegalese star’s greatest hits
as well as a series of new songs (including
the album’s excellent title track).
"Jammu Africa" also contained a
surprise duet, "Without Blame",
which Ismael Lô recorded with the famous
English singer Marianne Faithful.
By the end of 1996 Ismael Lô had become such
a well-known figure on the French music scene
that he was invited to support Jane Birkin at
the legendary Paris music hall
L’Olympia. Another highlight of Ismael
Lô’s recent career came at the start of
1997 when Swiss singing star Stephan Eicher
invited him into the studio to record a duet
on his latest album.
A New Album
In June 2001 Ismael was back in the
forefront, releasing a new album produced in
both Dakar and Paris. Entitled
"Dabah" after Dabah Malik, the
Senegalese artist whom Ismael Lo has always
considered as his spiritual and religious
mentor, this album oozed African references.
Ismael Lo’s favourite themes of peace,
love and inequality were accompanied by
reggae ("Biguisse"), soul and
Latino ("Africa Democratie")
sounds, along with the famous Senegalese
m'balax rhythm. Both Senegalese and eclectic,
this album was aimed at a worldwide audience.
"Iso" Lô hit the road again in
2004, embarking upon a mammoth tour in late
April. The singer’s concert-packed
four-month schedule (26 April -16 June)
included dates in no less than fifteen
countries across south Africa, east Africa
and the Pacific Ocean region. The Senegalese
star brought the house down at concerts in
Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius and
Uganda. "Iso" brought his tour to
an end in Casablanca, appearing at the fifth
"Rawafid" festival where he
received an enthusiastic welcome from
Moroccan fans. (Indeed, he has promised to
return to play in Morocco again in 2005).
Lô, who is a fervent adept of Sufism, took
advantage of his stay in Morocco to make a
pilgrimage to Cheick Ahmed Tidiane
Chérif’s mausoleum. (Cheick Ahmed
Tidiane Chérif is the founder of the
‘Tidianniya,’ the Senegalese Sufi
brotherhood to which the singer belongs).
