Your new album is stylistically different from its predecessor but it still uses hushed melodies and gentle beats to tackle serious issues. You don’t have to SHOUT to make a political point, do you?
You don’t have to shout to give your political opinion. If you want to use music to convey your message, and to people to listen to your words and understand them you need to use nice melodies to reach the consciousness of people. You don’t need to fight it, it’s just conversation.
I’ve read about your recent tour of Senegal villages, where you camped and stayed with your audiences. You’re a big star - does doing this enable you to ‘ground yourself’ and get back to what’s real?
I think it’s important for me for many reasons. For sure I write the lyrics of the songs that I travel with and make myself known around the world but the inspiration comes from my background and my community. It’s their music also and I wouldn’t want to travel with the music and leave them behind. They want to see that you are someone who travels but you are still part of the community, part of the family and part of the environment to be sitting with them. Even when I go back to the small places it gives them opportunities to believe that they can achieve it also and to give them strength.
When I’m in the communities I will sit down with the children and young people without playing music – because the music is just for the night time – and we have some food and cups of tea and they will ask me about different kind of situations. If you have travelled around a lot and met a lot of different people then you know about a lot of things that happen. The young people want to get information about this and about that: about politics, about religion; everything that’s going to enrich their minds.
What determines which language you sing a particular song in?
The languages that I use in the songs are determined by where the message that I want to deliver is heading. When I’m talking to my people, if the song is just for them and just facing them, I use their language and I can also use their harmonies and their melodies to really make it understood what I said. If what I’m talking about is more global and focused on and toward the rest of the world, I will use ‘foreign’ languages like English or French.
Your controversial comments on the Live8 concerts attracted much attention – how do you feel on that subject four years on?
I think something really good did happen about talking about the condition of Africa and coming together for a global idea. But I also think what I said at that time did make other people think about what they can do with Africa and what they can do with the African people – projects like Africa Express. It made projects like that happen and I think these are very good
I said in my opinion, ‘What you are doing is good but I really would like to see more people in Africa be involved.’ Everything that people do for Africa, inside and outside of the African continent, the African people should be involved. They need to get the information, be involved and understand what is happening.
Is music still a force for change?
It can be. I think music throughout time, especially in Africa, has played a role of communicating; in opening the minds of people and bringing awareness. Musicians in Africa have always been very powerful as they are in the centre of the culture – they have always been the link between the leaders and the rest of the people. The leaders will have them by their side so if they play their role well they can use the opportunity to be the link, to get advice, to improve the situation of the people. I think the important thing that music can do is to give and share information.
Politics, communicating with people to make change, travelling the world to address serious issues – is music something of a luxury? Or something that us humans need like air?
I think music is something that humans need. We have a proverb among the musicians in my community: Let’s play good music, have fun and escape from our problems, but at the same time talk about important things.
Music can also be a luxury, when you’re tired after work musicians can deliver new melodies to make you feel relaxed, meditate and feel flat in a good way.
This will help you to think deeply. It’s not a heavy way of thinking but the melodies, the harmonies and beautiful sounds, especially listening to someone you like, help you to think about important things. It’s a very good way of thinking.
You’ve been in this business for so long now – what are your greatest achievements and what remains undone?
One of my greatest achievements is that I put back into my community. By travelling, playing music and coming back to them, they could see something happening to them, in Senegal, in Africa.
Another achievement is Les Blues De Fleuve festival that I’m the producer of. The festival is for music, fashion and art, and it’s a place where people of different cultures can come together for three days, to exchange ideas and opportunities and create links between people to see what they can buy and sell. It’s a kind of door that I’ve opened for my community to be able to face the rest of the world and share and show what they have the ability to do. We also take a day or two to talk about politics, the environment and other important issues. It’s something I’m really pleased about.
Another thing is my collaborations: taking my music and the opportunities that my music gives me to collaborate with different associations and to build things that you can’t touch.
I’ve just come back from Mantes-La-Jolie, a city near Paris, where my fan club is based.
They organized a big concert and the money that they raised was sent to Senegal for health centres, schools etc. It is good to be able to do something like this as part of a community and to work with others.
I’m an emissary for the United Nations Development Programme. Through my role, I can use music to entertain people, spread African cultures and also bring something back to Africa. It also brings excitement to the hearts of people to see how they can develop Africa; to spread information, important issues, through performing music and singing about the Millennium Goals, which are very important for the community. It is also a way of bringing musicians together to use music for good projects and to connect with young people – to encourage them to believe in their careers, to give them strength, show them a positive future.
Baaba Maal’s new album ‘Television’ is out on 1 June
You can buy it from:
7digital (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
You don’t have to shout to give your political opinion. If you want to use music to convey your message, and to people to listen to your words and understand them you need to use nice melodies to reach the consciousness of people. You don’t need to fight it, it’s just conversation.
I’ve read about your recent tour of Senegal villages, where you camped and stayed with your audiences. You’re a big star - does doing this enable you to ‘ground yourself’ and get back to what’s real?
I think it’s important for me for many reasons. For sure I write the lyrics of the songs that I travel with and make myself known around the world but the inspiration comes from my background and my community. It’s their music also and I wouldn’t want to travel with the music and leave them behind. They want to see that you are someone who travels but you are still part of the community, part of the family and part of the environment to be sitting with them. Even when I go back to the small places it gives them opportunities to believe that they can achieve it also and to give them strength.
When I’m in the communities I will sit down with the children and young people without playing music – because the music is just for the night time – and we have some food and cups of tea and they will ask me about different kind of situations. If you have travelled around a lot and met a lot of different people then you know about a lot of things that happen. The young people want to get information about this and about that: about politics, about religion; everything that’s going to enrich their minds.
What determines which language you sing a particular song in?
The languages that I use in the songs are determined by where the message that I want to deliver is heading. When I’m talking to my people, if the song is just for them and just facing them, I use their language and I can also use their harmonies and their melodies to really make it understood what I said. If what I’m talking about is more global and focused on and toward the rest of the world, I will use ‘foreign’ languages like English or French.
Your controversial comments on the Live8 concerts attracted much attention – how do you feel on that subject four years on?
I think something really good did happen about talking about the condition of Africa and coming together for a global idea. But I also think what I said at that time did make other people think about what they can do with Africa and what they can do with the African people – projects like Africa Express. It made projects like that happen and I think these are very good
I said in my opinion, ‘What you are doing is good but I really would like to see more people in Africa be involved.’ Everything that people do for Africa, inside and outside of the African continent, the African people should be involved. They need to get the information, be involved and understand what is happening.
Is music still a force for change?
It can be. I think music throughout time, especially in Africa, has played a role of communicating; in opening the minds of people and bringing awareness. Musicians in Africa have always been very powerful as they are in the centre of the culture – they have always been the link between the leaders and the rest of the people. The leaders will have them by their side so if they play their role well they can use the opportunity to be the link, to get advice, to improve the situation of the people. I think the important thing that music can do is to give and share information.
Politics, communicating with people to make change, travelling the world to address serious issues – is music something of a luxury? Or something that us humans need like air?
I think music is something that humans need. We have a proverb among the musicians in my community: Let’s play good music, have fun and escape from our problems, but at the same time talk about important things.
Music can also be a luxury, when you’re tired after work musicians can deliver new melodies to make you feel relaxed, meditate and feel flat in a good way.
This will help you to think deeply. It’s not a heavy way of thinking but the melodies, the harmonies and beautiful sounds, especially listening to someone you like, help you to think about important things. It’s a very good way of thinking.
You’ve been in this business for so long now – what are your greatest achievements and what remains undone?
One of my greatest achievements is that I put back into my community. By travelling, playing music and coming back to them, they could see something happening to them, in Senegal, in Africa.
Another achievement is Les Blues De Fleuve festival that I’m the producer of. The festival is for music, fashion and art, and it’s a place where people of different cultures can come together for three days, to exchange ideas and opportunities and create links between people to see what they can buy and sell. It’s a kind of door that I’ve opened for my community to be able to face the rest of the world and share and show what they have the ability to do. We also take a day or two to talk about politics, the environment and other important issues. It’s something I’m really pleased about.
Another thing is my collaborations: taking my music and the opportunities that my music gives me to collaborate with different associations and to build things that you can’t touch.
I’ve just come back from Mantes-La-Jolie, a city near Paris, where my fan club is based.
They organized a big concert and the money that they raised was sent to Senegal for health centres, schools etc. It is good to be able to do something like this as part of a community and to work with others.
I’m an emissary for the United Nations Development Programme. Through my role, I can use music to entertain people, spread African cultures and also bring something back to Africa. It also brings excitement to the hearts of people to see how they can develop Africa; to spread information, important issues, through performing music and singing about the Millennium Goals, which are very important for the community. It is also a way of bringing musicians together to use music for good projects and to connect with young people – to encourage them to believe in their careers, to give them strength, show them a positive future.
Baaba Maal’s new album ‘Television’ is out on 1 June
You can buy it from:
7digital (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
