Djam Leelii

This is why I love this project. I never would have found this. And I may never listen to again. But dang did I like it on this car trip.

This is lovely! Relaxing, hopeful, energetic, and worldly. It makes me feel far away (in a nice way).

I can't for the life of me understand why this album is on 1001. For lack of a better explanation, I'll once again blame the British for this album appearing on 1001 as some attempt to appease their colonial guilt. I'm guessing Baaba is from a West African country. I'm from a North American country. I respect whatever musical traditions they're bringing to the table, and I have a personal responsibility to bring an open mind and hear this music with as few hangups and expectations built up from 36 years of "western" pop traditions, but I sure as hell don't have to like this. Songs are repetitious, droning, no change in dynamics, no development arc. I found small pockets of beauty, but I can find small pockets of beauty in a sewage processing plant. What is the point of this album? Is it just to feel one thing (detached mild ennui) and feel that same thing over and over again until the album ends? Did Baaba Maal want their listeners to accidentally fall asleep at the wheel and plow into a dairy farm? Perhaps perhaps perhaps if I understood the language there could be a deeper emotional impact, but that would have to be some exquisite poetry to overcome the doldrums of the music. D-

Ok so random thoughts on this: 1. Finally something I'd never have heard of otherwise, and not just the Beatles or Bowie for the umpteenth time. 2. Cool guitars and tribal drums. I dunno if traditional music, but something close to it? 3. Singing is alright but wears out its welcome. Gets too Arabic-sounding after a while, like those annoying prayer calls that just blast at 100 decibels in the streets in MENA countries. 4. This album shouldn't go for over an hour. A bit too repetitive. But it would've been fine at 30min for sure. 3/5.

Gorgeous instrumentation and vocals. I have heard Baaba Maal mentioned by other musicians so it was great to actually be able to listen to him.

Looks like something I might be interested in... Baaba Maal seems to be a big figure in the music of Senegal, and this is his debut with friend Mansour Seck. It has great vocals from both, in traditional African stylings. On the best tracks (like Muudo Hormo) we also get cool, traditional, organic percussion that fits perfectly. Personally, I'm not a huge guitar fan, so the turn-off for me is the predominance of acoustic (and one time electric) guitar across this album. Having said that, these guys tend towards beautiful, simple melodies that repeat and gradually develop. The best tracks are hypnotically repetitious, which is just the shit I love in any genre of music. It seems like this has just been chosen for the list as "world music for guitar fans" - but I can put up with that, because it's a mesmerising album. 4/5.

I've never heard something like that before, it was a cool experience. Nevertheless felt kinda boring, songs were too long and repeatable, both singing and melodies. And still not my type of music.

Great listen, atmospheric achostic vibes with african influence, no lyrics some chanting. good to listen and loose yourself in

Kind of cool. Never would have found this on my own. Songs are all a bit long and of course I have no idea what the lyrics are, but the instrumentals are interesting and it really handles the role of background music very well.

I never would have given this a chance if it weren't for this project, so score a point for the list. Some really nice guitar work that really grew on me as I listened. Best track: Kettodee

Not sure, at track one, if this is a me album. Intensely folky and repetitive, but I'm keeping an open mind. It's nice in places, but I'm just not deeply into Senegalese folk jams. Clearly it has value, but it sounds a lot like any other culture jamming - pleasurable for the musician more than the listener. Then it might just be me not understanding the culture well enough. Don't mind some Tinariwen or Manu Chao, but this just isn't grabbing me.

Really loved the ethereal feel of this. I didn't pay as much attention to each track as I'd have liked, but having it on in the background is wonderful.

Not for me. Very long. I can appreciate the fact that it's a completely different style than I've really heard before, but I just couldn't get into it.

One of the reasons I'm doing the 1001 albums challenge is to discover gems like this album. What a stunningly beautiful record it is. A few guitars, percussions and a touching voice and the end result is simply magic. I don't understand the lyrics - though I made some research and read about what they sing about - but it's a good proof how music can connect different cultures, backgrounds, and people together. This album touches my heart deeply. Just wonderful.

There's some really beautiful music on this album. The guitar playing is absolutely amazing and the percussion compelling and infectious. The vocals took some getting used to but never intruded on my enjoyment of the music. A really beautiful listening experience. 4 🌟

I didn't understand it at all, but it's very nice to receive this kind of album here on this list. Just listen to it and it's absolutely impossible does not to note the importance and influence of these songs in almost everything I listen to every day. The language, the drums, and everything else is recognizable in some way Unexpected surprise, not understandable, but very cool!

Dreamy

A little different, tribal sounding for the most part, that's the point of these right, to listen to a lot of different sounds!

I was kind of vibing with the music but it got a bit repetitive and I couldn't get past the vocals which were kind of annoying. It was OK. 2.5/5

Absolutely not.

I ALREADY RATED THIS YOU IDIOTS

In this book to hit a diversity quota. Absolute drivel.

Wow. The production on this is just gorgeous - thick, layered, hypnotic. This is the kind of record I frequent this website for. No favourite tracks, nor am I likely to listen to this on the daily, but man is it great.

Nice. I made it a habit to listen to those albums as they were originally released, so 8 songs here. Which were: nice. A lot of West(?) African music has this ~bounce to it - this shit grooves. "Salminanam" made me want to skip, but the rest was mesmerizing - stand out: Maacina Toora - and all in all much better and more interesting than the similar offering "Talking Timbuktu"(#30) (music from neighbouring Mali, but with 50% boring white man's Blues). Not sure if this is 5 star nice but I feel like offsetting the reviews of the troglodytes who can't process anything that isn't english-speaking pop/rock. I for one wanted to hear this.

Beautiful guitar interplay and vocals. Another album/musician on buy list, thanks to this site. :-)

Brilliant. Exactly what I am looking for from this list. An album that I should have listened to before.

Really nice album, would never have thought to listen to it otherwise.

Uauuuu!

This is what I thought this list was

As always with non-English language selections I feel like I can’t fully appreciate this. The instrumentation is fantastic, and although the signing style is way outside my cultural zone, it was interesting, and complemented the music.

Very lovely. Glad to be introduced to a genre and musical style that I would have been unlikely to find otherwise. Album felt a little long at times and I probably need to be in the right mood for it.

Senegalese tunes and familiar western rhythms are combined beautifully. The album starts with high-energy tracks, and the melodies become more thoughtful later.

a unique and somewhat soporific album. far too lengthy and unfocused/meandering to really stand out, but it makes for an interesting listen nevertheless.

This is what this book is made for. I've never heard of this and would have never sought it out. I have absolutely no idea what any of the songs are about, but the vocals sound great. I really dig it, although it is a little long and feels repetitive which lowers the rating for me. 3.5/5

Neodlučna sam oko ovog. Prije godinu dana bi sigurno imala ne tako dobar dojam o ovom albumu, ali u međuvremenu san gledala neki film di je ovakva glazba savršeno zaokružila cilu scenu pa san tu pismu slušala neko vrime i valjda mi se sad zbog tih pozitivnih sjećanja svidio i ovaj album. Do neke mjere. Malo predug album pa nakon nekog vrimena postane repetitivno. Čak bi mi se više svidilo da je sami instrumental ili možda malo manje pivanja. 2.5/5

Imaginez un album d'environ une heure constitué de pistes elles-mêmes constituées d'interminables boucles mélodiques. Imaginez maintenant qu'un homme y superpose des sénégalaiseries chantées pour nous faire oublier la redondance de l'instrumental. Vous obtiendrez alors l'album Djam Leelii de Baaba Maal et lui accorderez une note de trois sur cinq.

Not for me.

I felt like I was trapped in a neverending Lion King pitch meeting.

I did not need to listen to this. The music itself is unremarkable. I didn't skip any songs, but I tolerated it.

I’m gonna just file this under, “not my thing”

AGAIN! I DONT DO JAZZ Its fucking musical masterbation, no one wants to watch someone else doing it.

Did not listen, absolutely zero interest in this type of music.

Loved this shit

Back in the 1980s their was a craze for "world" music which I never really got into. I believe much of it was not very good, but a lot of trendy westerners listened to it because it was "niche" I listened to this album fully expecting not to like it, but was very pleasantly surprised. The intricate and mesmerising guitar work seems to interweave amazingly with the vocals. This is an album I would definitely listen to again. An easy 5 stars.

Am too dumb to appreciate the artistry, but good vibing

No track was skippable I felt it in my solar plexus is now on my go to chill out

Fantastic album

That was freaking amazing! My girlfriend also thinks it's freaking amazing we've listened to it three times and decided that we're going to go to Senegal to check out the music scene

This is what I came here for. Absolutely beautiful. Sounds totally fresh.

Loved it. It's understated in a way that makes every replay sound fresh. Great for chill car ride with fam

This made for a pleasant relief after some humdrum 90s guitar bands. Vibrant and energetic. Superb guitar playing and a definite 5 stars from me.

Well paced, although occasionally strays into repetitiveness. I appreciate the inclusion of some Senegalese music into the list, but it does raise the question of why there's only a dozen or so albums from an entire continent, especially a continent that's produced some of the best music in a hundred years and influenced Western music so massively.

Me encantó escucharlo, salir de la rutina de escuchar rocksito gringo o britanico es rejuvenecedor, deberían argregar más música internacional a esta pinga 10/10.

Finalmente algo diferente de álbumes gringos o gringos europeos. 9/10

really like this. No idea what they are singing about but lovely sounds

Talvez eu inclua esse som dentro de rock psicodélico simplesmente por falta de conhecimento de outro gênero ou músicos similares. Frases de guitarra simples e hipnotizantes, batuques com todos os tipos de instrumentos rítmicos, acompanhadas de um vocal entoado (que me pareceram mantras em algumas músicas) trazem algo de novo e refrescante pra essa lista, e que definitivamente tornam meu repertório mais rico

Loved this. Never heard Senegalese music before but will definitely listen again.

I absolutely appreciate the sound and feel of this whole album. A quote for Baaba Maal sums up my listening experience pretty well, although with a very Western experience I bet I’m missing a ton when I listen with my own ears…maybe not in some ways? “The spirit of the kora and the ngoni are different from the talking drum and the balafon, or the sabar and the djembe. The kora and ngoni are closer to human beings, because they are made from things that had life. The talking drum, the balafon, and the sabar are made from wood, and when you listen to them your mind goes out into the forest. When you make music and write songs, you have to know about the messages. From the messages, you know what the instruments are and how to put them together underneath the lyrics."

Fantastic. Great to just throw on and vibe. I only wish I could speak Pulaar so I could appreciate that gawlo storytelling.

Just an absolute pleasure to listen to. The tones the textures. The way he can convey a feeling in a song despite not knowing the meaning behind the lyrics… just gorgeous gorgeous music and this is exactly the kind of thing I want to be shown more of on this list.

I have never heard this before and I truly enjoyed it. The artist has a very interesting story as does the history of music in Senegal.

This is what I came here for. Absolutely beautiful. Sounds totally fresh.

Well shit. This is so, SO good. We had a 1993 Baaba Maal album a few months ago, and this is a clear precursor to that one’s high-tech, larger-than-life jams. This one, I feel like it was just tracked by great musicians in a room together. And it’s SO compelling. I can’t get over how expressive Baaba Maal’s voice is. I wish I could understand the language, but even without it it’s just arresting. Let’s talk groove, though… this grooves like NOTHING else. This is some crazy shit!! “Muudo Hormo,” that is my favorite track of the entire year so far. So sly. It starts in this totally pretty, folk pastoral, style, and gradually speeds until it’s this infectious JAM. I was dancing all over my house listening to this. Couldn’t stop. Even now as I’m listening to it a fourth time. It just has this sweet, beautiful, yet joyful quality. I can’t remember the last time a song compelled me to dance so JOYFULLY. This is a beautiful thing. Do I detect a tiny hint of prog influence? Just in the way some of the guitars are played, recorded. Those super bright DI acoustics, we call that sound “cheap” in America. I’m starting to really, really like it. I don’t mind the long runtime at all! The bonus tracks were some of my favorites. Really, that balafon player should win an award. It’s criminal that this music is so overlooked here in America. I want to go to the places where it’s celebrated, where it’s danced to. 5/5

Man this was fun. Outside the normal scope of albums I get. Just good chill vibes. Love the arrangements of not often heard instruments.

Loved it! Unique sound. Great rhythms. I’m a sucker for albums that aren’t in English

Extraordinarily beautiful. I loved the melodies, harmonies, instrumentation all the way through. Spotify calls Baaba Maal an "epic storyteller" making me regret that I don't understand the lyrics.

Those first few bars had me. I love this type of sound - not quite desert blues in the Ali Farka Toure mode, but pretty close in places. That guitar and then when the kora kicks in (yes, that's not all guitar you know...) This might be better in its original eight track package (although Kettodee is one of my favourite tracks). But it's pretty darned good anyway. I must have first heard Baaba Male on the old Andy Kershaw world music show on Radio 3. Not that it was really world music - just whatever Andy felt like playing really. Miss that show; there's not really been anything like it since and it made Sunday nights special. Tossing up between a 4 and a 5. Assume the shorter, eight track version and then add a point for not being in English anyway and it's a 5 from me. More non-English music please.

amazing

Dope album

Incredible album!

so beautiful

Amazing!!

SENEGAL!!! alussa luulee että intiaa..mutta ei... liian hyvä äänenlaatu.. these mfkers speak WOLOF.... wolofphones... top 20 jalkapallomaa... kakkostiimi AINA..AINA mm kupissa... espanja ykkönen...dogshit team...senegal kantaa.. nelosta olin antamassa mutta on vitosta annettu paskemmille albumeille (rodeohead) ja 2.77 average heh. average rating heh.... pistää niin vitun vihaksi.. tai pistäisi jos kiinnostaisi... meikä olen parempi ihiminen, ei tarvitse katella tommosia... parempi ihminen tietää objektiivisuuden. käsittämätön ääniskeippi... sielu uppoaa aavaan kitarahyrskyyn... pistää transsiin.. olisi uskomaton juna musiikki... maacina toro

Great African music. The vibe is perfect here

absolutely beautiful favorite track was probably Maacina Tooro, but the whole album is just so wonderful 10/10

Stupendous.

So this could just be the early stages of a crush talking, but I might just have a new favourite world music album. I was completely hooked from the get-go and the interest never faltered through the 9 tracks. This record really is something else. Baaba Maal has an amazing and unconventional voice, and the acoustic guitar of Mansour Seck is hauntingly beautiful. Adding on top of that the idiophone on for instance 'Muudo Hormo', and the result is an incredible atmosphere transporting the listener to somewhere else entirely. What impresses me is how the record manages to be so so groovy while still leaving plenty of space for contemplation. Definitely worthy of a lot more listens.

I’m in shock. Where did Baaba Maal emerge from? And how am I only hearing of him this moment? With Djam Leelii Maal and Mansour Seck have created one of the most hauntingly beautiful albums I’ve ever heard coming out of Africa. Maal’s vocal is both powerful and full of emotional range while Seck’s guitar playing will haunt my ears for days - not to mention the effect kora and balafon has on this record! Djam Leelii might easily end up in the top 5 of African records for me.. Until I’m sure I’m going to dive deeper into Baaba Maal’s discography and look forward to the March release of his upcoming album, Being.

A decolonial masterpiece!

After shirking my 1001 duties for a week, this is a mighty fine album to return to. Baaba Maal  was another one of the artists who were key to getting me hooked on African music. I didn't have Djam Leelii  but bought his next album Baayo - (which is also excellent). Thankfully my copy is still in good shape since I can't find the full Baayo LP on Spotify or YouTube.  The guitars and his voice are quite amazing. Not much else to talk about but that is definitely enough.

1989 - World Music (hard to describe - Classic guitar; Xylophone; Steel Drum; Chant)

I discovered Baaba in college, so I knew what I was getting into. Love the instrumentation and the hauntingly beautiful singing. I could listen to this all day forever.

Beautiful. Surprised I'd never heard this before, will be a favourite and need to investigate more of Maal's work

Musik um ihretwillen; sie erzählt und wird getragen von der Erzählung der Instrumente im Reich des Halls. Der Gesang überkommt die call response Struktur der weithin so gebauten Stammesgesänge. Erinnert eher an Blues und ist in seiner analog trancigen Art einer der Ursprünge für Schaffens des Animal Collective. Mesmerized 4.5

This album was a VIBE it felt ALIVE Ko Wone Mayo was especially memorable. Fuck it, five stars, this was unlike anything else, a really nice album.

Different, I wouldn't have picked it out for myself, but I was vibin'! Nice background music

This is probably the first album to come up where I just had no idea what to expect. I was surprised by the electric instrumentation from the jump though. The tracks are droney and repetitive, and I don't speak the language so this wants to fall into the background of my attention. Good vibes though, with some really pretty instrumentation in spots. This is probably going into the "Background music that isn't too distracting while I'm at work" rotation. It's cool that it made the list

Listening to this was a really neat experience. I've not listened to music outside the western/developed world much, and this was a very well crafted album. The guitar work on this stands out in particular. Really appreciate this album appearing on the list.

I took a while to warm to it but then I really did. Its the sort of exotic obscure stuff that impresses people at sophisticated dinner parties.

This album is awesome. It sounds like it comes from an alien planet but not in like a silly cartoony way, it’s more like there’s nothing to compare it to so it may as well be alien. The magic of this album is it is made by a traditional African musician who recorded this album in Paris with electronic music weaved in. Honestly it’s so pleasant and atmospheric. I obviously can’t comment on the lyrics cause I can’t understand them obviously but the instrumentation is what makes this album really special. It’s not a no skip album and some of the vocals can be grating and uncomfortable. However I still really enjoyed this album and I’m already recommending this album to people I know who have a very open mind musically.

really do enjoy the African albums we’ve had on this list. Such a nice change from the predominantly white boy rock. The star here is the guitar playing, which is kind of bluesy in places. I’m a fan of the repetitive style of west African music, really gets in a groove. The vocals are the kind of marmite element here, took a while to get used to the style. There were a couple of songs where they were more dominant, but mostly balanced nicely with the music. Nice.

Very hypnotic, the repetition serves to add to whole vibe rather than detract from it.

Completely different from anything I've heard before, very relaxing.

Very nice. Excellent background music. Goes great for yoga time!

World Music, immer wieder schön zu hören wie vielseitig Musik sein kann.

Instrumentation tends to be an afterthought in a lot of folk music, and as someone who doesn't enjoy vocals, that puts most of the genre outside of my interests. But seeing a folk album that puts great emphasis on the instruments, and that are not the western-style ones I'm used to and don't particularly enjoy, feels great. Sure, it's repetitive, but when the repeating part sounds this good, it doesn't really matter. Also, hats off to the production team. Both the instruments and vocals sound extremely clean, and the noise floor that frequently sours the experience of chill folk records is almost nonexistent (apart from the first half of track 6, for some reason). I know nothing of the culture this comes from and don't understand the language, but the vibes here are immaculate. It's lush and dreamy and pleasant to the ear. This is a relaxing, feel-good record done extremely well. This kind of style is not exactly for me (I enjoy louder, more layered sound), but although I wasn't blown away, I can't say I wasn't surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

When one hears in the right mood and circumstances, this has a major impact. It's lovely and lilting, expressive of deep and urgent yearnings (that's what one hears anyway) and then moves on. One only wishes one spoke griot so one could dig even more deeply.

Loved the music. Took awhile to get used to the voice

This is just really good. I bet you didn’t expect that from me.

I mean, I'm always a fan of West African music and this is right up there with the best of them. Not a surprise, but a damn good listen