Baaba Maal

Baaba Maal has proved to be one of the most inventive and enduring artists to come out of Senegal. For well over a decade, he's explored music frontiers, both on the hi-tech and traditional ends of the spectrum. His new album, Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) is purely acoustic, recorded in the country, with the noises of nature an integral part of the sound.

But for every glossy studio disc, what follows draws him back very much to his native Fouta area of Senegal.

"It's the two sides of my musical personality," he explained. "For the last record (1998's Nomad Soul) I experimented with a collaboration between African instruments and Western instruments, to bring together African and Western musicians, and work with different producers, experiment with the influences I get from traveling. But I go in different directions on different albums."

"I wanted to record this in a special way, in the open air, far away from the city, using very sensitive instruments."

Whatever path he takes, however, Maal ensures that the heart of his music is rooted in the tradition, as it has been since he began.

"It's the base of all my music. Whatever experimentation I do, I try to keep the traditional base, because this is me, my way of singing and writing my songs. Some of the traditional instruments have a lot of meaning for my music and the message I want to sing about."

One of the most unusual elements of Missing You was the use of producer John Leckie, who's associated more with rock and English bands like Radiohead and the Stone Roses, which begs the question - why did Maal pick him?

"On every album I try to see what producers can bring out the ideas or personality of the songs," he observed. "I wanted to record this in a special way, in the open air, far away from the city, using very sensitive instruments. So it had to be someone who respected instruments. I wanted someone with plenty of experience, who's not very old, but who has lots of years experience, and an understanding of how I wanted to record these instruments. I think John Leckie was a good choice for that."

Maal has also been very active, both in Senegal and throughout West Africa, in working to fight AIDS, a disease which has been decimating the continent. For him, it's an obvious thing to do, because "I come from a very rural environment. When I finish touring in Europe or America, I got there. They love my music, they like to hear me talk about my experiences. They want to understand what's going on in the world. I know a lot of the AIDS problem comes from inside the country - people don't get information about the disease, and how to protect themselves, they've never got the information. And they're very close to the music. We can talk to them and give them information. And the band can play and help raise money for heath centers, to buy medicine, things that people need. It's something we can give back to them. We take the music from the general culture - it's not just my creation, it belongs to all society - and they need something back. And the best way is to help the development of Africa, and that means fighting against everything that stops it developing. I think this disease is a great battle, especially for the young people, who are the hope of Africa."

Baaba Maal

"I wanted to record this in a special way, in the open air, far away from the city, using very sensitive instruments."

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