Amadou Diagne
Album: Yakar
Label: Waulk
Tracks: 13
Website: http://www.amadoudiagne.com

Until recently, Senegalese musician Amadou Diagne, was probably best known as a sidesman with the likes of Youssou N'Dour and Cesaria Evora, but that all started changing last year when he released his self titled debut on the World Music Network's 'Introducing' label and I'm sure will change further as people pick up on "Yakar" his latest album and his first on Waulk records.

Recorded in English, French and his native Wolof, "Yakar" truly can be considered a world music album, albeit one that leans towards Africa in the sound. That description can also be applied to some of the instrumentation, including guitars, keyboards, guembri and nyckelharpa, the latter contributed by Griselda Sanderson, who also produced the album and arranged the strings.

"Yakar" is an album that highlights struggle, the difficult decisions that life imposes on people, particularly those born into harsh backgrounds, where sometimes the only way to survive is by leaving everything behind only to discover that the frying pan has moved to a fire and a different type of oppression.

That said, the under lying feel of "Yakar" is one of hope, even when I couldn't understand the words of the album, there is no mistaking the underlying sentiment that feeling that if people work hard and are given the freedom to work together, than real communities can be built.

"Yakar" is a great listen, there is a bluesy feel to the album a sense of the music going home and recombining with other strains of African music and then mixed with European languages for an album that has a delightful cosmopolitan and that feeling that if it all sounds this good when it comes together in music, maybe it could be this good if we really all gave it a chance.

Neil King