When Baaba Maal was growing up in Podor, a small northern town in Senegal situated along the river, he was expected to join the local workforce. Fishing is the main driver of Podor’s economy, but Maal’s family was open to other options: farmer, doctor, lawyer. Instead, Maal befriended local musician Mansour Seck, studied music in Dakar and Paris, and has released a steady stream of albums since the mid-1980s. Maal’s inventive marriage of traditional and electronic instruments have led him to cross-genre collaborations with Brian Eno, Damon Albarn’s Africa Express, and even Mumford & Sons. More recently, he teamed up with composer Ludwig Göransson on the soundtrack for Black Panther and its sequel Wakanda Forever.
Conceptually, “Yerimayo Celebration”—the lead single to Being, Maal’s first album in seven years—is about honoring tradition: The title translates to “the fisherman’s celebration,” a direct reference to Maal’s hometown. The song is a roaring, triumphant stomp: Maal enlisted percussionist Momadou Sarr, whose drums pound like a band of horses on tightly packed dirt, as Maal’s multi-tracked vocals swirl over stretched out pangs of synthesizer. Plucked strings from the West African ngoni guitar rustle underneath, adding a metallic brightness. Anchored by Cheikh Ndoye’s earthy bass, the song feels more tied to terra firma than the water—perhaps signaling when catch arrives on dry land, commencing feast and festivity.
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