Djam Leelii

A lot of atmospheric feeling music with ethereal Senegalese vocals over fairly repetitive guitar, bass and percussion. The guitar is good and interesting when it does vary or usually at the intro to most of the songs. Often has an upbeat positive energy to chill and introspective. Good as a background for traveling or vibing in a new setting. Glad I was able to discover it even if it wont be on a regular rotation for me.

Prima album opzich, maar veels te lang voor wat het is, -1 daarvoor

Schitterende west-Afrikaanse soundscapes. Beetje hypnotiserend, af en toe wat intenser. Onzettend mooi.

Not going to lie, couldn’t fully get through this one. One of those albums where I can appreciate what they’re doing. But I can’t sit with a whole album like this. Just starts to blend together too much for me

Genuinely will likely finish with 40/50 albums below it by the end, that’s not a compliment to this, it’s how horrid some of them have been

Dragged on for too long

I made three songs in and realized they all sound the same. 2/10

Me vino bien para la concentración mientras estudiaba. Lo volvería a escuchar? No creo.

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it, but also it's not really something I'd pick to listen to frequently nor something I'd go around recommending. I'm not much of a new wave kind of person, but I can imagine this being useful for relaxation or even some sort of meditation.

Not bad

I liked it

Djam Leelii by Baaba Maal is one of those albums that probably needs to be reviewed a little differently. It’s clearly not something I would normally listen to, but that’s really the whole point of this challenge — discovering music that sits outside my usual taste. So I’ll start with the positives. The guitar work and drumming on the album are really cool, and there are some great musical moments throughout. I particularly enjoyed the music on Maacina Tooro, which has a really strong groove. On the negative side, I struggled with the vocals. His voice just felt quite grating to me. The album is also fairly long, and after a while it began to sound repetitive, almost like the same musical ideas being repeated again and again. Favourite tracks: Djam Leelii was quite a nice song musically. Least favourite tracks: Most of the tracks aren’t something I would normally listen to or return to. Album artwork: A bit of a messy cover , I’m not entirely sure what’s going on there.

2,5

Crack

I've been in the mood for some good African music for a little bit today, so this was what I needed. Some great singing and some really interesting percussion on some of the songs. A lot of these songs have a really hypnotic feel to them that made the album as a whole go by surprisingly fast, given its runtime. I don't have as much to say with this one because of how far out of my normal listening range this album is, but it's pretty good.

Strange but good!

I recognized his unique vocal stylings from his collaborations on movie scores with Hans Zimmer and Peter Gabriel. Let me be clear that I absolutely love world music and consume it weekly, so it is absolutely sad for me to say that this album did not work for me. I don't really find his performances elevate the material and the repetition gets a bit sparse midway through the track list. I prefer West African music with a bit more liveliness or danceability. I personally recommend checking out Youssou N'Dour, Diogal, or Doudou N'Diaye Rose if you are seeking out great Senegalese music!

Interesting

This was fun! Good background and work jams.

A very simple and folksy sound that I can very much enjoy. Unfortunately, an hour or so of it definitely seemed like a pretty huge drag.

I was physically unable to continue to pay attention through this album. I assumed I had listened to all the songs not because I had sat there for what felt forever but struggled, personally, to find where one song ended and one began. This is entirely a me problem. Season: True Autumn

It feels too much like one long soundtrack to have in the background and not like a full album. Is being too seamless a problem? not sure but I def think this album has that. I can't really think of any reason id listen to it in the modern day. It would be great to play in the background while my horse drawn carriage goes through dessert plains tho!

The original release had 8 tracks. The re-release had an extra 4 tracks. I was served up the re-release, and just about made it to the end of the 8 tracks before turning it off. For that reason I will give it 2 stars - on a technicality! I think that not understanding the language really limits my enjoyment. I kept trying to imagine the album without any vocals, or even vocals in English, but I found it very difficult. It's not without any merit, but it's not really something I enjoyed.

Pleasantly played while i worked, but i won't be returning

I misjudged this before actually listening to it.

Senegalesisk folkemusikk? Interessant. Behagelige og egentlig ganske briljante instrumentaler. Tviler på at jeg kommer til å gjenbesøke dette albumet noe særlig, men det er helt klart et solid og respektabelt prosjekt. Top 3: Maacina Tooro, Djam Leelii, Bibbe Leydy

first few songs were nice but after that it got old

not my style at all

This is a pleasant and mellow album, with lots of nice acoustic guitar.  I found it to be very ok.

Strangely enough I liked it. Probably won't listen to it again but was not bad at all!

completamente fora do meu escopo musical, mas é legal

nao eh mto minha pira, mas nao eh ruim nao. é bem tranquilim e tem uma boa dose de energia em algumas músicas. é interessante e tem um vocal bem bacana

ото занесло я як комаров ну норм

Probably the most accessible album of its kind that I've heard so far on this project. Its unlikely I would listen to this again but its not from a perspective of disdain.

Not my thing

Fun, different, thoroughly enjoyable.

I bet Paul Simon likes this album. Me, not so much.

3.0 Whoever is playing guitar can rip

Usually I love this genre, not so much this time. The music is nice but it’s a little whiny and the vocal pitch isn’t soothing or comforting in any way.

It's nice to get exposed to music from other countries. This is the 2nd album of African music. Enjoyable. Nothing to telegram home about.

Not my thing. But I'm sure it's somebody's thing.

2 sterne

Lam tooro - 3 Loodo - 2 Muudo hormo - 2 Salminanam - 3 Maacina tooro - 3 Djam leelii - 3 Bibbe leydy - 2 Sehilam - 3 Kettodee - 3 Ko wone mayo - 2 Daande lenol - 2 Taara - 2

instrumentals are decent, vocals are not

I quite liked the calming vocals and soothing guitar work. Probably won't return to this, but I'm glad that it's here on this project, as it's slightly expanded my horizons with music of which I never would have otherwise heard.

2.0

Cool world album that made my normal commute to work feel quite a bit more special and more like a journey to somewhere interesting

I'll start with the positives of this album. I really love the inclusion of more traditional African (Senegalese) music that wouldn't get the light of day without lists like this. However, the album's real repetitive nature, with its lack of instrumentation, makes it feel like a drag. Compared to his other album on this list, which really does push the needle and has actual variation, this feels a lot more lacklustre. I'm glad that I get to hear traditional Senegalese music, but it's not for me.

Meh

Interesting!

8/10

Music: 4 Vocals: 2 So far, I've enjoyed pretty much all the world music albums we've had. This one I really wanted to like, but the vocals just didn't do it for me.

Ko Wone Mayo is almost 10 minutes of the same little riff over and over and over and over. I am going to ask to hold the Mayo!

Nice listen. Some nice guitar at times that almost reminded me of RCHP or the Stone Roses despite being a completely different genre. Too long though.

Beautiful. The adventurers indeed! Perhaps a bit longer than it needed to be. Gorgeous percussion and looping, dancing gentle twilight. Had spent time with a later album of his, perfer this. Will be returning.

Even if I could understand the lyrics, the music is repetitive beats and no dynamics.

It started off strong and I thought I'd have at least a 4 star review here, but I was less of a fan of the second half of the album. Every goddamn guitar strum was a 10/10 though.

This album is trying to be too many things at once. It wants to honor tradition while also appealing to western ears with rock instrumentation. The guitars are fun and catchy but wear out their welcome quickly due to repetition. Not as good as the other Baaba Maal entry on the list, especially with this album's length. It's ok for background listening or mixing in here and there but not something I'll go back to. A noble attempt at fusion but it feels uneven. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Lam Tooro - Muudo Hormo - Maacina Tooro

Geen idee, sliep wel lekker, maar deed me weinig

This is very interesting and I really appreciate getting something so different. But it does feel a bit like the stupid idiots who made this list added so many 2000s british indie rock albums, that they started feeling guilty and googled "best non-english albums of all time" or something like that. This is decent but does feel a bit repetetive and too long after a while, definitely at least 3 stars.

While Baaba Maal is evidently talented, I didn't really vibe with this one. The album was also 72 minutes over 12 tracks which is quite long for something I didn't get into. Maybe not understanding the language it was performed in is making me biased. 2/5 stars.

I liked the music, but obviously didn’t understand any of the words. Some of the vocals were a little overpowering, but overall this is definitely an easy listening album that was good to have on in the background. This is something I would have never heard of or listened to if it wasn’t for this project, so that is pretty cool.

Origin: US. Genre: World. Even the people who compile this list can’t be bothered to do any research on it or categorise it properly, because it’s so utterly dull and repetitive

Now this is something I really wanted from this list. 1001 albums to listen to should not be "here are Robert dimery's 1001 favourite albums", or even the 'best' 1001 albums. Do I plan on listening to more Senegalese folk music? No. Did I actually really enjoy this as an album? Yes. The guitar work is wonderful, it feels full and interesting and enjoyable to listen to. These people saying it's droning -- were they listening to the same thing? A little bit of the same thing for an hour but...still a pretty good thing. 3.5/5 for the music but just because this is the first time I've gone hell yeah this is an album people should listen to because it's a culture we in the West aren't exposed to, it's a 4.5/5. What the list was made for.

7/10 Best songs: Muudo Hormo A timeless Senegalese album. It avoids a lot of the tropes inherent to western music, starting with the need to have short, focused tracks with a climax. In this case it's not a bad thing: each song is different from one another and I find them all quite compelling, almost hypnotic in their focus on beats and seemingly improvised (but probably not) variations of the same melodies. I enjoyed this album as pleasant background music.

Dies ist ein großartiger Meilenstein, durch den die Musik Afrikas die Welt erreicht hat. Fantastisch ist, wie die Musiker das Lebensgefühl Afrikas durch Rhythmen und Melodien erlebbar machen. Man muss sich darauf einlassen, muss der Musik und den Gesängen Zeit lassen. Man darf nicht erwarten, dass diese Musik an die Hetze und die Aggression der "westlichen" Musik anschließt, man muss sie vielmehr als ein Korrektiv des Mainstreams der Popmusik verstehen. - Leute, lasst euch ein auf diesen wunderbaren Flow! Schaltet für einen Moment ab und gebt eurer Seele Raum!

I guess I've gotten this guy's music before, the sound sounds familiar. The melodies from the guitars are entrancing with their seemingly constant presence throughout. Everything sort of flows together, rather than being insular. I don't recall any specific track immediately after listening, but I certainly remember the sound if that makes any sense.

This was a monolith for me. Many of the songs sounded relatively the same and it was difficult to tell where one ended and the next began. It was mildly pleasant at times, but very repetitive. Getting through it was a slog. I did enjoy "Kettodee."

"This album is long and samey but it is also different and melodic so who am I to deny it a fourth star?", is what I wrote four songs in. About an hour in I came to the realization that as the listener I am the sole arbiter of who receives stars here. Twelve six minute songs that all sound quite similar is too much for me. How about twelve four minute songs? Or eight six minute songs? I deny this album a fourth star.

When I started this project I figured there would be way more stuff like this: world music, obscure but influential western music, cult classics, etc. Instead it feels like endless Eagles, Bowie, Beatles, top 40 stuff, with rare surprises sprinkled in every 30 records or so. Sigh...oh well. This was a cool breath of fresh air! Not something I need to hear again, but it beats the hell out of Boston or The Smiths.

African music that I've never heard before and likely never will again

full respect to everyone involved but this just isn’t me at all, for someone else it’s a 5 but for me a 1

Not that bad. Just not really good either. I'm glad I listened but won't be listening again.

This is annoying. Sometimes an instrument does something I like, but it's too repetitive. The singing isn't great. Just not worth ever listening to again.

I listened to the first couple songs and that was it. So strange

I liked this quite a bit; something about Baaba Maal's voice and vocal style remind me a bit of Nusrat Feta Ali Khan, even though musically this is quite distinct. 3/5

Really enjoyed this one. There's an 8-song version and a 12-song version. I'd go with the 8-song version. The extra 4 songs sorta drag and lower the energy. I keep hearing these sorts of albums (Senegalese, "desert blues") and being surprised that these sounds haven't made their way into the mainstream yet. Would be really cool. 4/5 (for 8 song version)

Pretty cool. Really easy and lovely to listen to. It's pretty darn repetitive, but then, I think that's kind of the point of music like this -- circular, improvisational, somewhat meditative. Not one I'll come back to often, but I'm very glad I listened to this before I died.

I lack the context to really critically evaluate this album. I had never heard it or heard of the artist. I got a little bit of information and it sounds like the fact this guy was able to make and record music defied a traditional caste system and that makes this an important piece of music. My purely intrinsic evaluation was that it suffers from 80's things like maybe there's some digital chorus or something being applied sometimes. It didn't need that and would be better if it was recorded more raw. I don't speak the language so I couldn't tell if the songs would be more enjoyable or not if I knew the lyrics. I enjoyed the songs that featured the thumb piano or whatever instrument it was that created those tones. At first I thought that the more repetitive structures was going to grate on me but it didn't and I was able to get into each track.

Listened in the morning

Not my vibe

I think that if I understood this lyrics, I might’ve been able to appreciate the song a bit more!

Delightful - feels almost ambient in that the songs flow with very repetitive chord progressions, subtle instrumentation and not much in the way of hooks, but still a great listen. Obviously, I suffer the usual british problem of not understanding the language of the lyrics, but for this it doesn't seem to matter - the vibe is impeccable. 4 - only misses on a 5 because it's more ambient than memorable

Ben wel fan van west Afrikaanse muziek, dus dit was ook leuk! Niet zo’n hele grote fan van z’n stem, cest la vie. Heb er ook niet heel veel verder over te zeggen. Andere leuke artiesten zijn Bonga en Cesaria Evora!!

Great vibes, love the mix of influences.

If I understood anything it would be +1

As I may have described here before, I am a sucker for sub-Saharan music. Entrancing, hypnotic, subtly rhythmic, exploratory. Easy to feel you've heard it all before, but each cut goes somewhere new, adding a rhythm here or an echo of the kora there. Differing guitar styles abound. Joyful. Takes me down ten anger levels instantly.

Easy to listen to and lose yourself in the musical whirlpool.

This was pretty cool. I certainly wasn't tuned into to every nuance and detail, but it played on in the background as I did a little research and it was a pleasant accompaniment.

Pleasant enough. I wanted to be swept away more, but some of these riffs are pretty great.

This soothed my soul during troubling times

Proto-blues. Really pleasant listen and great for background listening. So many droning psych bands try to pull this off

Not much to say about this. It was what it was.

i like this kind of music but i’ve heard stronger things. I’m not sure if this is one of the almost i should listen to before i die. More of an ali farka toure fan tbh

not my forte

Yeah, not my thing.

It’s not the music I’d normally listen to, but it sounds good. The instruments sound cool and so does the language

leuker dan gedacht, ma na een tijd saai

Did not enjoy this

Yeahhh chill but not my style

Not a fan. The voice is a little irritating

7/10 - now this is what we need more of, a bit long but amazing to have a coffee Sunday morning to

Fantastic music to get lost in. Truly inspirational without understanding one word

Dig the music and for some reason the lyrics made no sense.

I don't understand what is happening. Some talent there for sure, but I can't appreciate it.

Couldn't understand a word

Love love love it! Reminds me quite a bit of Mdou Moctar or Vieux Farka Touré, who I also love. Actually got ot see Vieux perform live once--right around the corner from my house 🤯

Not a bad album but the songs all started to sound the same to me.

This was surprisingly good. I really liked the guitar work and the layering of instruments. Lam Tooro and Djam Leelii are my favourites on the album, but some of the others are also pretty good.

Enjoyed it

I don't know what to say about this album. I have a blind spot in my musical taste for stuff that is in a different language that I can't understand. The music is fine, although can get a bit repetitive at times, and it doesn't really light any fires inside me. Maybe if I understood the words, I'd have a better chance of connecting with it. It's perfectly fine, I'm glad the generator threw this album up for me to listen to, but I'm happy not to go back to it.

I appreciate the meditative quality of the interweaving instruments but I found myself wanting some more movement in each song. And I WANT to not be closed-minded to the vocal style, I really do, but my western ears just can’t come to terms with it. This was an interesting listen but not quite my cup of tea.

All I can say is that is was chill and well composed

Different...a pleasant listen

Some really interesting acoustic guitar and percussion that weaves together in an entrancing way. The songs tend to meander a little bit though, averaging >6 minutes across the album. The singing is in a very different style to western music and I found it a bit less enjoyable than the instruments. Definitely glad to have heard this, but not something I'm going to return to.

It was super cool just not rly my vibe. A very cool listen though from a genre i don’t normally explore!

Indian - Bollywood

Afro-jazz vibe

trance me ok

This album is one of the reasons why I started using the generator. I probably wouldn't have ever listened to this, and I've enjoyed it a lot. There are several layers in the songs, all so beautiful... it's such a delightful listening. It truly is. I've loved this album. The songs are so well constructed and everything flows so softly and with such taste. I'm delighted by this album.

Not sure this project is going to stick with me for a long time, but it did my daily commute quite nice. Very relaxing and fun project overall and my first foray into Senegalese music. Favorite: Maacina Tooro Least Favorite: Taara Mid 3.

Listened while cleaning at home. Love getting these records that I never would have come across with this project. That said, I didn't love this one. It's beautifully made, but not exactly something I would reach for again. Glad I listened to it though!

Wanted to like but it was a bit of a slog

Did not understand any of it, but did not hate the melodies and sound.

I got fooled again. I’d already started writing this piece and confidently typed 3/10 in the title when a small Wikipedia footnote caught my eye: the last four tracks were added for the 1998 CD reissue. That detail changes everything—and not in a good way. Because in its CD form, this album runs for 72 minutes. That’s not indulgent, that’s punitive. At least thirty minutes too long. Those four bonus tracks alone add over twenty-three minutes, including the near-endless “Ko wone mayo,” which stretches past nine minutes while almost nothing happens (except, bizarrely, a sudden burst of unintelligible French—apparently the only time on the entire album). The closing track, “Taara,” is outright dreadful. The bonus tracks don’t just weaken the album; they actively sabotage it. In fact, there is one clear highlight: “Sehilam.” Every single time I listened—and I forced myself through six full spins—I thought the same thing when that track came on: this is where the album should have ended. Not only because what follows is weak, but because it’s genuinely the perfect closer. By the time “Sehilam” starts, you’ve drifted into a kind of half-sleep, and suddenly there it is: the most uptempo, most swinging, most musically engaging piece on the record. A proper finale. Which, originally, it actually was. Stepping back a bit: we’re in Senegal. I happened to start listening on the day Senegal won a heavily discussed Africa Cup final against host nation Morocco. The album was recorded in 1984 but not released until 1989, which I only realized afterward. Sonically, it holds up surprisingly well for both dates. But sonics aside, there simply isn’t much there. Two acoustic guitars (often treated with chorus), two voices, and occasionally a kora, a balafon, or some light percussion. Mostly, though, it’s just voices and guitars—and the voices dominate. Oof. Minimalism can work. Nick Drake made an entire classic with little more than voice, acoustic guitar, and about three piano notes—but that album lasts 28 minutes and already flirts with monotony by the end. This one clocks in at 72 minutes on CD, or roughly 50 in its original form. Double oof. The album does start well. Opener “Lam Tooro” sets a mood: a lovely, atmospheric guitar line with expressive singing on top. It’s hypnotic, almost ritualistic. You think: okay, this might go somewhere. But then it doesn’t. From there until “Sehilam,” it dissolves into a grey blur of vocal textures where almost nothing happens. And yet, this album was—and still is—lavishly praised by critics. I honestly don’t understand why. Spoiler alert: artists like Ali Farka Touré will show up later in this series. Not to lump all West African music together, but compared to this, that work is far richer, more varied, and far more engaging. Non, merci. I’ll grudgingly add one extra point for the shorter original runtime, but if I were to bump it up any further—to a three-star rating—I’d be placing it alongside something like Johnny Cash. And frankly, that’s just far more pleasant to listen to.

Nice African groove - not really my thang tho

Good just not as upbeat as I would’ve liked to hear him sing.

Different and can appreciate the sounds but not something I'd consider my type of music or something I'd listen to regularly

killer vibe, bad singing

This is nice but not really my thing

I found it quite easy to chill out and relax listening to this. The two artists combine together really nicely, playing off each other and creating an atmosphere. I do like the analogy of a river as this album does nicely float along, taking you with it. Definitely something you have to be in the mood for but it works despite the lack of language comprehension.

Likeable dullness. It was easy listening and pleasant as a background. I didnt overly engage with it however and while I experianced fleeting depth with it mostly their play for me was a chilled mood. Uplifting quiet Metronomic plod in conclusion. Bit like watching a lake or listening to whale noises. I guess I will give it some earthly connection uplift on that score. Not conventional vibe thats for sure and the language I dont think made any difference to me. Perhaps prefered it to wash over me as that seemed to be its vibe.

The album starts with such a great tone and recording quality that I was instantly captivated. I sometimes find with "world music" you get something that is culturally interesting but limited by the production quality. Not the case here. This album sounds great, intimate guitars with great tone, mixed well with traditional percussion instruments and bags of detail and intimacy. It's a long album, but my attention was held throughout. At first it seemed like a purely Senegalese folk vibe, but I noticed some western influences from blues and Jazz creeping in, particularly in the title track which was excellent. I also found my lack of Pulaar to be less of a detracting factor than I thought I might, although it is a shame that I struggled to find lyric translations from my usual sources. I really enjoyed this and I can see that it has potential for many replays. I look forward to relistening and floating back to the Senegal river.

181/1001 Baaba Maal - Djam Leelii: The Adventurers Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ✅ Whilst I enjoyed my time with this, it wasn't quite as immediate as the previous album I had from Baaba Maal. This certainly feels more like a traditional sounding style, with the simple guitar work coming to the fore here.

3.7 Pleasantly surprised by that. I've normally not been a fan of the non-Western songs that have appeared on this list but there was something quite peaceful, soothing, yet emotive about this. It weirdly reminded me of an acoustic album by a black metal band I'm into, with it's repetitive yet almost tantric rhythms. Saved a few down, will listen to again.

Good background music. I have no idea what they are singing but I could listen to this and work at the same time without getting distracted by lyrics but also without being bored to sleep. Pretty cool.

The acoustic work is nice, each song initially sounds like something that I would hear at a hotel pool on vacation but then the melody is just repetitive, repetitive, not really something I’ll be listening to again.

I never would have listened to anything like this if it weren't for the 1001 album generator. Not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed hearing something wholly different than anything I had ever heard before.

This album was recommended to me immediately after The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. The experience is so different that it's hard to believe that Baaba Maal and Trent Reznor belong to the same species, let alone are both musicians. It is almost literally music from two different planets. What Reznor is electronic, heavy, and industrial. And hopeless. What Maal does in light, airy, and full of traditional acoustic instruments that evoke the feeling of being in the woods. Both are abundantly talented. One is the son of fisherman from Senegal. The other is the scion of a Pennsylvania family that made its fortune in the air conditioner business. I hear more joy, wonder and variety in Maal's songs. But I'd be dishonest if I said vastly preferred one artist over the other. I simply don't know what Maal is singing about. So I liked this album but I don't know how often I'll come back to it.

This isn’t exactly the type of music I seek out but I can’t deny it’s a nice relaxing listen.

When this started, it seemed like the perfect soundtrack for a chilled Sunday morning (and a nice change after a run of albums by artists I already knew). But I must admit that towards the end, I started to get a bit bored with it.

Pretty good and a very stripped-back type of listen. The music isn't so much concerned with building up layers and density, but rather it builds these shimmering, drifting lines that just trail along in the background. You still get some incredibly solid riffs and motifs, my absolute favorite being on 'Maacina Tooro', but I found I got locked to the subtle movements of the instruments as opposed to any actual repeating groove. Maybe the densest thing here is 'Sehilam', which actually establishes this very hypnotic groove with the percussion and introduces something of a vocal hook, even. Musically, I can see how a lot of psychadelic music in the west might've drawn from this; it reminds me a lot of eastern music in general, but also has a lot of parallels to Songhoy blues, which only makes sense. I guess the best way to describe this is pleasant, just a really good and mellow time.

Spiritual strings. You can hear the tradition being passed down in that slow evolving perfection of a process. I see myself walking through a market in Senegal, listening to this somewhere, and contemplating the beautiful culture. This listen, especially initially, would've benefitted from my having some form of cultural attachment to it. The latter third of the rerelease pulled at my emotions. I don't know if that's because of the process of the entire listen, or if the marketing team figured which tracks were sticking so they could increase sales. I appreciate the listen, don't know if I'll look for it again. 2.9/5

A Fantastic window into a wild and beautiful universe of African music. Interesting and inspiring instrumentation but the powerful vocals give this the full character of an intensely deserving classic

love this guy !

2.5 The music is great and hypnotic; would’ve preferred this to be an instrumental album.

Perfectly pleasant to listen to.

Really good album but some of the songs area a tad too long. Take say half an hour off this and it’s a definite five star

A very pretty album from to great Senegalese artists. The guitar playing is so intricate that you have to give it attention. Unlike anything I’ve heard before.

I wasn’t a fan of this one

I’m glad I got to experience this as part of this journey. It’s not objectively bad, but it’s also not for me and I’ll never listen to it again.

Would be more than happy if this was on in the background at an African restaurant but it’s not the type of music I’m interested in listening to for enjoyment

Hace unas fechas hablaba de Stereolab y sus loops electrónicos. Pues bien, Baaba Maal y Mansour Seck se pueden considerar los ejecutores senegaleses de la técnica del loop, pero esta vez con instrumentos tradicionales. A pesar de ser una música fuertemente anclada en la el folclore africano, no deja de sorprender por lo moderno que suena en su composición repetitiva, cosa que crea una conexión como si se tratara de un mantra. Un álbum para darle más de una oportunidad.

It was an alright experience. Didn't hate it, but didn't care for it.

4/10… desert blues / african pop / *1989

I'm glad I found this album.

Not my thing

I'm not going to question what should and should not be on the list. I find people who do to be selfish and unfairly critical. Its not our list and I'm grateful to have different choices each day to listen to. Usually stuff I've never heard before or that I would choose to listen to. And this is one. Probably one of the best in it's particular genre. I don't know. And whilst a reasonable listen it's not really recorded for me. Similarly I wouldn't choose to read a book written in Albanian. The music was pleasant if a bit repetitive and long. Nothing I hated. Nothing I particularly loved. So a fair and average 3

Djam Leelii ist ein gemeinsames Album der senegalesischen Musiker Baaba Maal und Mansour Seck. Die Aufnahmen entstanden Mitte der 1980er-Jahre; konkrete Angaben zu einzelnen Aufnahmestudios sind nicht eindeutig dokumentiert, die Produktion ist jedoch klar auf eine intime, akustische Klangästhetik ausgerichtet. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album im Bereich westafrikanischer Traditionen mit deutlichen Bezügen zu Folk- und Bluesstrukturen. Akustische Gitarren, sparsame Percussion und der enge Dialog der Stimmen stehen im Mittelpunkt. Die Reduktion auf wenige Mittel verleiht den Stücken Ruhe und Konzentration. Zu den besonders bekannten und stilprägenden Songs zählen „Djam Leelii“, „Lam Tooro“ und „Muudo Hormo“. Diese Titel zeigen exemplarisch das Zusammenspiel von rhythmischer Gitarrenarbeit und melodischem Gesang, das für die Zusammenarbeit von Maal und Seck prägend ist. Insgesamt wirkt das Album geschlossen und konsequent: Djam Leelii überzeugt weniger durch Abwechslung als durch Atmosphäre und musikalische Klarheit.

Hypnotic. I have pretty much no context for this: I don't know what he's singing about (and could only find lyrics in English to one song online). I would love to have a sense of how this seemingly very traditional sounding music fits into modern Senegalese culture.

The ultimate hook record

Very cool! Never heard of him, this mix of musical styles really works for me. I love Mdou Moctar, and I feel I now know where he started from. Cool!

This was a tough listen. The wailing was a bit grating.

En dos semanas dos discos de este autor. No es una música que me disguste, pero si que un disco entero es mucha inmersión en la música étnica. Así que este me ha sorprendido menos y se ha hecho más pesado, la reiteración le ha perjudicado.

Chill

Afro-beats. Good music.

Enjoyed the repeating rhythm. Hypnotic as I hung drywall.

I'd heard Baaba Maal before and knew he had a great voice but had never really explored his output. I'm glad this project prompted me to give this a listen Lovely relaxing and dreamlike sound. I read through some of the reviews and it was depressing how many Americans (I have no way of knowing they are Americans, but let's face it, they are) were dismissing this simply because it wasn't in English or it was too repetitive. Where do you think your popular music originates from, bozo!

1 - TERRIBLE

Nice, quite different atmosphere of music from which you know as a "western" music listener but totally relaxing and takes you on a journey.

Interessante Angelegenheit, ein senegalischer Sänger landet eher selten in meiner Playlist. Musikalisch dann aber doch eher dürftig und uninteressant. Trotzdem 2 Sterne, weil es mal was ganz anderes war und mich zumindest auf dem Level unterhalten hat.

Spannend, weil mal eine komplett andere Richtung. In den Ansätzen auch durchaus interessant, allerdings auf Dauer recht eintönig und gegen Ende fällt es nochmal stark ab.

Erinnert mich stark an Mdou Moctar (auch wenn anderes afrikanisches Land. Gerade gegen Ende, wenn die Blues-Einflüsse am meisten durchkommen, ist das schon richtig stark. Zwischenzeitlich verliert mich die Platte aber etwas, da doch zu gleichförmig. Und vor den Bonus-Tracks sollte man wirklich abbrechen. Der Qualitätsabfall ist schon beachtlich. Fun Fact: Der eine Typ hat vor knapp 10 Jahren mal ne EP mit Mumford & Sons veröffentlicht. Da waren auch gute Songs dabei.

War wirklich interessant mal Musik auf der Muttersprache vieler meiner Klient*innen zu hören, fand es auch auf Albumlänge echt nicht langweilig.

Sehr interessant (durchaus wörtlich gemeint). Werde ich wohl nicht zu Hause mit, aber funktioniert als Album definitiv sehr gut.

Puh, für mich wieder so ein klassischer Fall von "einzelne Songs ja, ganzes Album nein". Auch weil, mal wieder, die Länge des Albums hier negativ einwirkt. Könnte ich jetzt ne 3 geben, da ich die Songs für sich genommen aber spannend finde (ist auch ja mal ganz was Anderes), gebe ich hier nochmal nen Bonusstern.

Auf die Länge etwas zu repetitiv aber das gibt mir als ganzes sehr schöne Vibes

I enjoyed listening to this, but I have no capacity to speak to it. It could be great or lousy by Senegalese standards, but I trust that it is great.

Such a delightfully charming record. Had this on while doing dishes and it made me enjoy the task instead of dreading it

It’s nice to heard something different. That said, many will find the songs to be very repetitive, almost like loops playing. Over and over for 5 or six minutes. It can get to be a bit boring.

Very cohesive and steady album. The song blends one into another. This album would be great as an ambiance sound in the background while hosting or chilling. It could always very well be a driving album, on a beautiful road during sunset. The guitar gives a feeling of being in the open air. As a Malagasy, the language is really close to my own as well as the vibes so it makes sense that I can feel good listening to it. Extensive research to understand the meaning of the album is to be done later but all and all a good album.

Veldig deilig afrikansk musikk. Treffer godt!

Not for me

Definitely not the kind of music I’ve been exposed to before. Baaba Maal’s Senegalese music is impressive and the instrumentation is enjoyable. Unfortunately, for my taste, the vocals didn’t do it for me. Technically impressive, but just too nasally for my taste in music.

More World music that admittedly I don't really get, so probably shouldn't even judge. Not my cup of tea.

Nice guitar

Instrumentalt möjligen snudd på godkänt. Men står inte ut med sången.

Har väl egentligen inte lyssnat tillräckligt för att ge ett rättvist omdöme. Men oavsett, det här håller inte. Det händer ju ingenting.

Ibland glimtar det till med lite high life och ibland med lite ökenblues, men oftast är det för enahanda för min smak. Det är möjligt att texterna är fantastiska, men sången är det inte. En svag tvåa.

honestly good music. i’m impressed by the range of instruments in this album

Not bad, very easy to just casually listen to in the background. Favorite track was Djam Leelii

I liked the beat on a song or two, but I was not a fan of the singers voice / the way he sings.

Ok, but I'm probably not going to listen to it again.

An interesting listen

7.5 / 10

Repetitive and long. It’s not bad but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

2.5

Tja varför inte

p618. 1989. 2 stars. Laid back African folk-rock. Interesting to listen to for a couple of tracks then every song blends into the next. Glad I heard it but will but not listen to it again.

Ok, but like just typical "world" music.

In the right mood this is the perfect album. Just laid back easy African jams. It probably helped that I listened to it while pretty sleepy

Three songs in, it's such a special listen. Hypnotic. Relations between the guitars are fantastic, laying a bed for the vocal to do it's own magic. It's not a normal listen in any way. But I think it's worth your time. Just don't hurry, don't rush. And Let it do what it does to you. Today I'm staying at Luang Prabang, watching the Mekong river flow, and listening to it for the first. It has an effect, I can tell you that. But is it something I see myself going back to often? No... It's a bit too long aswell. Still special. 2.8

This was a pretty cool album from the generator, but not really something I’d seek out on my own. It’s mostly traditional and acoustic African folk music, that has a meditative and ethereal soundscape. Overall, it’s an album I doubt I’ll ever come back to, but I don’t regret listening to it either.

This is not for me. Not even a little, ever, under any circumstances. (ntm.)

not a lot to say about it

Actually quite nice... if a bit repetitive. Wouldn't have thought I'll play it again though.

Not for me. Not knocking it but not for me

Beautiful. Nice mellow music, perfect to have on while working on something that needs concentration.

I've never heard anything like this. Many of these guitar lines wouldn't sound out of place in a Western indie-rock song, and in the context of these songs, they sound both familiar and foreign. I appreciate the minimalism as well—there's a lot going on, even with a few instruments. It starts to blend together for me after a while, though the vocals in "Daande Lenol" and "Taara" are quite striking. While this isn't necessarily something I'd put on by choice, it was illuminating.

I feel lame that I think that the song he did with Mumford and Sons is one of the best songs of the last decade, while also thinking this was very repetitive and not that interesting to me. I assume it's a language barrier thing. Sorry for being so basic.

Likely won’t listen to again but don’t hate it. 2.5 stars

This started to click around track three. The melody and instrumentation here is pretty hypnotic. At points though it did start to drag, especially when you don’t get hooked into the overall rhythm. Sat listening to this on a rainy day, which seemed to fit the vibe.

Perfectly fine in the background, but not something I’d ever pick to listen to intentionally again

Overall: 5/10 I found this to be completely fine. The vocals were the most interesting part for me, the instrumentations felt incredibly repetitive and I found myself getting pretty bored throughout. I'll have to admit though that I'm still not too familiar with this type of music so my opinions on this may change one day. Fav Song: Salminanam

Nota antes que nada: me acabo de enterar que la pagina esta permite tener sponsors y que cada uno de ellos puede agregar un album...... lo cual explicaria tanto album totalmente random q nos sale Fuera de eso, no tengo absolutamente nada que decir sobre este album porque jamas escuche musica senegalesa del estilo y obviqmente no entendia nada de lo que decian. Me gusto escucharlo tho DEVUELVANME MI TIEMPO PERDIDO ESCUCHANDO LOS ZUTONS

Vaaaale este es el tipo de cosas que yo quería escuchar, esenciales de OTRAS partes del mundo. Me queda pendiente entrar en la radio de alguna canción de este album para ver si descubro cosas nuevas, porque veo que los anglos no están muy por la labor. Muy buenos ritmos y musicalidad, aunque se me hace repetitivo llegado cierto momento del album, será por escucharlo todo seguido. También siento que está bastante adaptado por momentos para el oído y las lógicas musicales nuestras, desoccidentalicen la música. Molan: Loodo, Maacina Tooro, Sehilam

Pleasant and atmospheric background music, but not enough variation within or between songs to be more than that.

An album not to listen to before you die.

Interesting. This is what I thought I’d get a lot more of when I signed up for this project. Way better than another Leonard Cohen album. Not likely to ever listen to again. But glad I got to hear it once. 2.75

Hypnotic and immersive in a way that I've only really felt with psychedelic music and hill country blues. Very looping and repetitive in the best way.

Cool album, just not something I think I'd revisit.

Repetitive and very long. So many albums on this list are an hour long for no reason. This could have been 30 mins shorter. I guess it would be good for background music while doing some house chores, but it’s not exactly engaging enough to sit with and pay attention to.

I have no idea what Djam is saying on this album. The music is fine and the songs are a bit monotonous, especially since they go on and on. It's hard for me to recommend this album, as the length of the songs and the fact I can't connect with the lyrics I don't understand.

This guitar sounds so pretty! It actually kinda reminds me of the acoustic side of Rust Never Sleeps? Plus there's a lot of call and response vocals, which I always love. Would never have come across this one without this site, thanks!

Interesting. Different. Worth another listen

I enjoy the guitar playing a lot. The album made time fly by but at the same time it didn't really grab me much in any way. Some decent background music for me

A pretty good album, I liked Lam Tooro, Muudo Hormo and Sehilam the most.

alternates between infectious and serene, super engaging listen, baaba maal rocks, stone cold classic

Some interesting stuff, almost meditative, repeating riffs. A lot of the tracks sound like jam sessions, I can’t imagine they ever played the same version twice. The more structured tracks remind me of Cuban jazz. For my personal taste the songs are too long for what is happening in them, not enough variation to warrant the time spent on an idea. At over an hour the album feels like it could have benefitted from a heavy edit. That said there is some nice interplay of the two guitars, and there is a lot of variation between tracks. It’s all just drawn out a little too long.

Not my thing

Not bad, but kinda slow paced.

This is not necessarily a bad album and it's alright for leaving it in the background, but it's definitely not my thing as my proper music to-go.

It’s fine. Not really something I would Ever choose to listen to though

Too long and too same

Not for me thanks

Not my usual kind of music but ok.

Þetta var áhugavert.

Fínasta vinnutónlist frá Senegal.

It's always hard to rate these world albums. It is not bad stuff necessarily, but it isn't really my cup of tea.

> The Beatles Very pleasant and enjoyable

Lovely singing, somewhat tribal while still calm. Not a regular listen for me but still nice.

Nope. Could not do it. I dig world music and that's the whole reason I got into this project, but this felt like a weird mix of Indian and troubadour music. I couldn't even use it for background music. My rating: 1/5 bongos

Personally, I struggled to remain engaged throughout this album. The acoustic guitar work i found repetitive and, although I am sure this was intentional to create a sort of meditative effect, I found it monotonous rather than hypnotic. Each track is over 6 minutes and I noticed very little variation from one to the next. Vocally, I enjoyed the occasional interesting or unusual melodic flourish but I dont think they were exceptional. Im sure much of the albums depth probably lies in the lyrics which I couldn't understand unfortunately. No one favourite track. 5.5/10

Heck yeah. This is exactly the type of music I needed today. I really enjoy the hypnotic groove of the guitar. It reminds me of Mississippi Hill Country blues. I can't understand anything that's being sung but the vocals fit perfectly. I've listened to this several times today and it's in my top 25 new to me albums from the generator.

Look beyond the novelty and what do you got? Someone (me) with uneclectic taste, that’s what

Blind album and artist. This album was decent and then just kept going down cause it was so repetitive. Im sure if I knew the words I would feel differently and maybe have more of a connection but just couldn't enjoy it like I thought.

Just too long. I liked some of it

I feel like a bad citizen of the world in saying this, but this was just too repetitive and boring to elevate itself beyond the dreaded 2-star badge of shame. I really do love his song with Mumford and Sons though. I know that doesn't reflect great on me, but I'm just as God made me.

Gostei muito! World music no seu melhor!

есть приколы в целом, но это для медитации больше, а не для постоянки

Very different from anything my Western-trained ear is accustomed to. Unfortunately I didn't connect with the album as much as I wanted to as a result, but there are some really cool melodic structures and instrumentation that at least keep the album from being boring

Day643 - interesting to listen to but not one i particularly liked

very nice vibes, Ițm thnakful for this recomandation

Ethereal, minimal, exotic. That’s my first impression of ¨Djam Leelii,¨ a mysterious offering from two men I assume are from some part of Muslim Africa. It has a bit of Sufi vibes, hypnotic, trance-inducing. If I was a cobra I’d be charmed by album opener ¨Lam Tooro.¨ The album doesn’t really take off from there, and the songs blend together but it’s a pleasant sort of homogeny that is relaxing in a desert tent, a bedroom with a warm light or a yurt somewhere horrible. Best songs: ¨Lam Tooro,¨ ¨Ko Wone Mayo¨

I don't like the vocals.. some songs sound scary

The Good: We learn a different language! The Bad: We can’t find a teacher for this language… The Ugly: Trying to figure out if Djam Leelii means Pearl Jam… I wonder how many will figure out that last line… What’s there to say about these “world” albums that we are given every now and again? I would say, not enough… However, as with my comments on any other world albums, it would be nice to know what exactly the singer is singing about. Reading the story of Baaba Maal, I am fascinated by this story, and thus by this album. Listening to his mentor wail in Pulaar makes me feel like a baby trying to understand what the grown-ups are telling me to do. I will agree with some of the comments people have left regarding the album, that it is a tad too long… if this would have been around the 35 minute mark, this would be a 4 1/2* album for me… instead, 3 1/2*

It was something a bit different, but I didn't love it

Two Baaba Maal (and three African) albums in three days! I prefer the more traditional (less poppy) sounds on this to the Lam Toro album. There are still times when the constant repetition becomes a bit wearying, but I thought the vibes in tracks 6-8 were spot on.

Good vibes

This is pretty chill, meditative, almost desert blues but more laid back.

interesting

Again things like this have a nitch market, Hipster coffee shop trust fund winers. The other 99 percent of us listing to stuff like this and say nay. Its not bad just not good and should never be on any album listen to list.

I wanted to like this more. The instrumentals were interesting and quite enjoyable, but the vocals annoyed me. The different language didn't bother me, how voice just grated at me. Give me this album as an instrumental one, and I'd be happy to listen to this again. 3/5

I won't shit on this because I've been asking for variety and this is certainly something new. And in isolation each track was pretty cool. I just think that it all got a bit repetitive and it was a very long record. 40mins of this was about all I needed.

Really cool guitar on this. That’s about all I’ll prob remember. Glad I listened.

Very good.

The guitars, sitars, drums and everything else sounded great. I couldn't take the vocals.

Albums like this confuse me. The creator of the original list clearly has an awareness of this kind of music, this album among a handful of others are pretty obscure picks, plus they are from non western artists. So why are these albums so rare on the list? They feel so random, and especially considering how much garbage made it into the book, I feel like it really could have benefited from more diversity of music from continents other than Europe and North America. But anyway, let's talk about the album itself. I guess it was ok, hard for me to judge since I have practically nothing to compare it to of the same genre that I am familiar with. Nothing particularly grabbed me or felt hugely memorable, but it was perfectly listenable.

I liked most of the music, but not so much the vocals. And it dragged on.

usually i like albums like this, but nothing really resonated with me on this one. not sure why?

4/5

This album was very much outside of my comfort zone. At the risk of sounding like a total bigot, this album sounded somewhat like I would have expected coming out of West Africa, with the drum pattern as the signature. There are some western sounding elements, primarily the guitar throughout the album. What makes it sound western, I don't know. I thought I heard some blues elements. I was interested in some parts of this album, here and there, but in general this is not really my jam. It did seem to be well orchestrated, decently mixed, and as I said had some interesting musical components. From my perspective, this would be somewhere around a 6.5. AH

2/10

Bijzonder

Fun vibe, but what sets it apart?

Pleasant but not really my thing. Light 3.

this entered my ears through the headphones I was wearing.

I like how this list contains music from other countries and culutres so it just won't be US/UK music only. However, unfortunately I didn't really enjoy this album. I guess this genre wasn't for me because I was already getting tired of it by the middle of the album. Maybe I would have related to it more if I understood the lyrics. I am grateful that this album is giving me artists and other music for me to listen though.

Finely textured rhythms with MENA and blues influences. There’s a solemnity here that some might equate with boredom, but this music is more about the journey than the destination. In this case, the journey is mostly rewarding if not particularly enduring.

I really liked it. Gentle rhythms, smooth vibes.

Couldn't find it to hear it.

Eh not my thing

I kind of enjoyed listening to this but mostly because it made me feel like I was at Disney's Animal Kingdom, which has music like this around the park. I don't think it's something I'll put on just for fun, though, and I definitely don't "get" it. I do like world music, but overall this was a bit too 'yayayaya' for me, and it was definitely too long.

I like this. As I don't know the language and am not well versed in this style of music, some of it tends to run together. But that's a me problem. 6/10

Not my thing.

When analyzed on an individual album-by-album basis, ABBA sounds… okay with a few really good songs. When summarizing the whole with examples like Greatest Hits or Mama Mia you can really dial in on the band. The Visitors offers a peak but not the whole vision. 3.5/5

3,5

Cool album! Even was het terug zomer! 3.4

Interesting, but not something I'd listen to again

Good sounds. I enjoyed the album

This was really one I could not get into, primarily because of my mood. It's a slower album with a lot of beautiful melodies. I know it is one I would love to revisit on a different day to see how I feel.

Interesting! Sometimes soothing, sometime not. A little repetitive.

not my favorite, but fun to have a whole different style of music

Best Song: Djam Leeli Interesting listen. Definitely not gonna be added in the rotation. 4/5

I’m not saying this is a net negative musically I just did not have a good time with this one. Absolutely the longest it’s taken me to get through an album on this list, Extremely too long run time and I could only do it in like 20 minute bites. This is a cool cultural experience but I felt like I was being force fed the experience rather than finding this and being interested in it. I’m going to have to hit this with a 2 but if I ever do get an interest in learning more about Senegal’s musical cultural identity I will definitely return with more excited ears.

Neat, idk why I had to listen to this before I die though. Soft 3/5

Real cool psychedelic world music

Something I never would have listened to without this list, but a good listen! Might grow on me more if I listen again, but I'm not sure how likely that is

Nö!

This chap may be Dylan in his language and culture for all I know. However since I can't speak his language it's lost on me. And subjectively didn't really enjoy it. It's not actively bad or anything though. 2/5