I saw
Black Panther last week, and I thoroughly enjoyed the film's score, composed by Ludwig Goransson (pictured above seated, along with four Senegalese
tama drummers), which liberally incorporates African popular and traditional music.
Most noteworthy to my ears was the voice of Baaba Maal, the great Fulani singer whose music, like Goransson's, employs a fusion of global elements in a search for the ecstatic. Maal's most recent album,
The Traveller, in particular sounds like a template for Goransson's score. So I'll start today's program with two Maal songs that echo sounds you hear in
Black Panther, then move on to the drum-driven Senegalese
mbalax which is also a major influence on the film's soundtrack.
Also this week: deep dub;
chicha and
cumbia; and Super Djata vs. Toubab Krewe in a jam band showdown, West African style.
