On a balmy May evening you find us dancing before Baaba Maal and his six swaying musicians. A lone kid in a red turban was the first to leave his seat in HQ and start a slow grooving shuffle on the bare-board dance-floor. By the time Maal and Co were dishing out the scintillating percussion and feverish melody of Daane Lenol, the crowd were united, elbow to elbow. It couldn't have been any other way.
It is a credit to the Senegalese musician that he can bring some sense to the category "world music". Renowned for fusing his traditional songs with disparate contemporary genres such as reggae, rap, funk and dance, Maal understands that music styles across the globe are all African at root. His latest album, Missing You, is a return to unadorned, acoustic atmospheres of spirituality and celebration.
Flowing onstage in pale blue traditional garb, Baaba Maal let his powerful voice boom to life with the slow "tribute to parents", Yoolelle Maman. Following its delicately picked guitar, charming harmonies and subtle political content, Maal began the exquisite folk-hued love song Jamma Jenngii. The climbing melody and uplifting, interwoven vocals made this early highlight tough to follow. Plainly undaunted, the group introduced frenetic African guitar and a deliriously picked kora, behind which the player, Kauding Cissokho, vanished from view.
With rhythm ever escalating, Bakhane Seck's percussion was stunning. Pounded out on goatskin drums with dizzying speed, his beats saw the dance-floor swell while Baaba threw shapes to shame anyone still seated. A breezy Fanta offered brief respite from the frenzy, before an extended Cherie moved from lilting verse into relentless funk, providing an endurance test for the hardcore groovers. Whether or not you could stand the pace, Maal's performance showed that an unplugged set can still feel electric.
