Immigrés
Youssou N'Dour
1984
Album Summary
Immigrés is an album by Senegalese singer and percussionist Youssou N'Dour. AllMusic remarks that the album is "a good part of what put [N'Dour] on the international map".
WikipediaNot the type of music i would usually listen, but i loved it. The production is really good, all the drums sound fantastic and the vocals are wonderful.
“Immigrés” by Youssou N’Dour (1988) Gipsy Kings, meet Bob Marley. The West African country Senegal is the grand exception to the dictum “The worst thing you can be is a former French colony”. And Senegal is perhaps is the world’s best hope for an exemplary and peaceable Mohammedan nation. Out of Senegal comes N’Dour (one of Paul Simon’s collaborators on his album “Graceland” [1986–percussion on “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”]—Simon may have “appropriated” African musicians, but it sure didn’t hurt their subsequent careers). N’Dour is an able vocalist who has assembled a sizable team of performers in this rhythmic treat. This is your horizon-expanding opportunity to enlarge the musical palate. The lyrics to the opening song “Immigrés” playfully give sage advice to those who are contesting a disputed election: Have a cookie and get over it. I laughed out loud. However, I was unable find any other lyrics online (too bad—they are in Wolof, I believe, and are essential for seriously assessing this work), but the real substance of this album is the colorful and exciting instrumental work, especially percussion. The four tracks are multidimensional, well-composed, evocative, and extended. Sorry, I had to give up on “Taaw”—I could never find the groove. Play this as background music while you work, and you’ll not only be efficient, but you’ll also be eager to wrap your arms around a world of music. Who could ask for more on a Monday morning? 3/5
The sound of being at a late-night backyard party illuminated by string lights on a hot summer night with a glass bottle in your hand. Really fun, and has no bloat at all.
This album is awesome. The songs were long but never got boring. Consistently fun throughout.
Very pleasant listen. As with much African music, I can't quite put my finger on what I do and don't like.
Fun rhythms, fun melodies and instrumentals. This is such interesting, moving music!
Not something I would usually listen to, but pretty good. Good musicianship.
Great experience getting some exposure to Senegal, but I still find it absurd to randomly throw in world content into a list of popular genres.
Really interesting to hear Senegalese music. Throughly enjoyed it to begin with but couldn't listen for too long
This is straight up Senegalese music. Lots of percussion/African band sound. 4/10.
Joyous. I saw him on Peter Gabriel’s “So”tour in 1986. Became a huge fan. This is a great album!
Oh, this is wonderful. Joyful, richly arranged, musically gorgeous songs. Youssou N'Dour has really found the sweet spot where traditional Senegalese sounds blend perfectly with hints of Western pop, funk and jazz. The synths are actually pretty restrained and balanced for that era, so I don't know why anyone would single them out for criticism. Overall, this is really splendid. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Taaw, Badou, Immigrés/Bitim Rew, Pitche Mi
Wow, this viscerally takes me back to my childhood. Sub 10 - maybe 6 or 7? My very first media device of any description, that was mine rather than the family's, was a crystal radio kit. You pushed the components into a perforated cardboard circuit board, wired them up, connected a wire to a radiator to act as an antenna, and listened through a little ear piece that looked like an old fashioned hearing aid. It had no power source of its own, and seemed like magic to me! It was not capable of picking up too many radio stations, but one thing it reliably picked up quite strongly was a show playing world music that sounded a lot like this. Probably the first music that _I_ sought out for myself, rather than was just passively exposed to. Fave track - "Immigrés/Bitim Rew" I guess, but the whole album is lovely....
Fun, party music. Whoever the drummer is on this, he is putting in WORK. Weirdly I feel like Maiden fans might enjoy "Pitche Me". Favorite track: "Pitche Me"
Very cool, interesting sounds and unique instrument combinations. Enjoyable.
Immigrés is an album by Senegalese singer and percussionist Youssou N'Dour. AllMusic remarks that the album is "a good part of what put [N'Dour] on the international map"
I feel like I should be able to mark 'listened' and 'enjoyed,' but also that I am wildly unqualified to put a rating on this, given how little I know about African music.
What a fun, chill, relaxing album. Spent the rest of the day listening to his other albums!
8/10. Pretty good, I see why I had to learn about this guy in French class
8/10 I really loved the beats and instrumentals on this, and it was a nice change of pace from Western music. However, I found it repetitive at times and sometimes the vocals sounded really nasal in a way that I didn't care for
Enjoyed this one. The reason I follow this list is to introduce me to great music I perhaps wouldn't normally come across, and this fits that bill perfectly
Really good. Hypnotic. I was worried as I didn't like his stuff that I knew.
really nice! While I've listened to perhaps more music from Africa than the average person this is new to me. Not sure I would purchase it but happy to have heard it.
Some great beats, perfect to have on in the background when you have a garden party.
This is great… another smashing African album I wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to!
Honestly, not bad. I liked it way more than I thought I would. I just don't see myself revisiting it too often
Un disco increíblemente ecléctico, pero agradable de escuchar, especialmente la primera canción. Está interesante porque no se parece a nada que haya escuchado antes; la mezcla de tambores con metales y guitarra, con un ritmo que no se parece a nada que haya escuchado antes.
I was not expecting to like this one, but was surprised to find a really enjoyed it! Pitche Mi was a standout, so emotional.
This sounds less commercial than the YND stuff that he put out a few years later. The first song caught my attention about half way thru and the next two were quite enjoyable. I like the rambling percussion, the loose arrangements the guitar in Pitche MI. And of course the voice.
I can't put it in words but there's something about the singing style in Senegalese music that is quite soothing. He sings this way and is also able to hit notes in an expanded range. My favourite bits are songs with the traditional African guitar melodies as in Taaw. While this album has lovely percussion throughout, the album doesn't hit its potential since the production doesn't do justice. I need to use my imagination to think how amazing his singing on Pitche Mi must be live or with recording / producing capabilities from even 10 - 20 years later. I quite like Senegalese music and would have a 5 for music from that country but I feel like I'm rounding up here.
pretty groovy, I don’t think I’d want to listen to it more than once but for what it was it was pretty fun 7/10
Well shit, I'm gonna have to remember this one when I'm grilling, hammocking, or otherwise relaxing this summer. I don't know what the lyrics are about, but the music is really fun. I also like the length of this record. It's almost not an LP. Four tracks at a total of 34 minutes. That must barely make the cut. Anyway, these songs need to be longer (liket he 11+ minute "Taaw"). Because they sort of lure you into a groove. And, for me at least, I don't really ever want it to end. Also, I feel like there is a lot of mastering compression happening on this record, and sometimes it has a really cool effect of smooshing everything into a wall of sound that is only driver forward by the hand percussion. Loved it.
Immigrés by Youssou N'Dour. I had heard his backing vocals in a number of songs most notably "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. First time listening to his own music which is classified as mbalax, a mixture of traditional Sengalese and latin-styles and was huge in Africa. This album is four songs. All songs are dominated by his tenor voice and a slew of percussions. Mostly rhythm driven. The one exception is the second song "Pitche Mi" where you really hear the Latin and guitar influence. "Taaw" is the highlight with its rolling bass and heavy percussion. Paul Simon was most definitely listening to this for his album "Graceland." Overall, I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this album and music.
Wow this is a great album. Jazzy, funky with amazing guitar and fantastic percussion. I loved it. 4.5 🌟
Overall, a solid album. I really enjoyed the funky beats and the general vibe. Though I have to admit the first half of the album is 4 stars for me and the second half is only 3 stars. But what can you do? It is definitely worth a listen. Giving this 4 stars because I like the vocals and I'm feeling generous today. Fave track: Title track.
It's 7 Seconds guy! Good vibes, not something I'd listen to every day.
This kind of unexpected album is one of the most exciting things about this list. It's far from my favorite music genre, but it's far because of my lack of knowledge of how big the world is. I hope to keep this project for the following years, and I wish to receive more classical but even more of these different and culturally challenging albuns. Good music, great experience. (Unfortunately, the Wikipedia page for the album is too short, but the Youssou N'Dour page helps with it)
A pleasant surprise. Never dabbled into this genre before, but the music is incredible. At some points often a bit bloated, but full of talent and ambition. Favourite Tracks: - Pitche Mi - Taaw - Badou Overall Rating: 4/5
Intense and dynamic. Dancers probably find it danceable. One's not qualified to say much more than it sounds cool and substantive and lord knows we've all heard much worse world music and if this made him a global star, it must be good, right?
Enjoyed this album. Nice chill background music. Relaxing percussion and vocals.
This felt like one cohesive piece rather than 4 individual tracks. I rather much enjoyed the whole thing.
A brief, breezy and energetic album from one of Africa's finest musicians of the late 20th Century, packed to the brim with a neverending barrage of synths fusing with Afrobeat. It doesn't overstay its welcome and deserving of further attention. Favorites: Taaw, Immigrés.
Pretty good. The only standout for me was Pitchie Mi, but the others were good.
I appreciate that this list doesn’t solely focus on western music in. Never would have listened to this otherwise and it’s really interesting
Not trash, but doesn’t stand out from any other world record I’ve heard in the past
Nice, mellow African music. There's only 4 tracks on this album so I'm going to pick 2 tracks for best ones. BT: Immigres/Bitim Rew, Pitche Mi
Not something I would actively choose to listen to, but very interesting to hear once. Enriching to know about this music, but I won't listen to it again.
This is not something I would typically find myself listening to, so it's hard for me to rate. It sounds great, and is well recorded and composed, but I don't see myself coming back to it. 3* because it's certainly not a bad record, but it's not a record for me.
Didn't seem to be anything exceptional, but also was fun to listen to. A solid 3.
Really different. Four long tracks, 35 minutes, spanning multiple genres - give it a go
Second listen. Very nice music to have on in the background. Really enjoying the music.
Really struggled with this one. Loved the beats and the melodies but because I didn’t understand the lyrics I felt I was missing out on half the song. Also felt that the tracks were too long, again if I knew what the subject was or what they were singing about it may have made more sense.
Nada malo como disco de Afro-Pop, incluso sin ser la música que acostumbro oír me pudo parecer entretenida y hasta mejor que lo de los Zombies que no muerden que oímos hace algunos meses. Conocía el nombre de Youssou porque participa en un tributo a Lennon en el que hace su version de 'Jealous Guy' que es bastante buena.
La primera está bien. La segunda y la tercera son las mejores del disco y la cuarta otra vez bien. Es música muy agradable aunque no me despierta más que eso. 3.5 estrellas que bajan a 3 porque están bien y ya. Songs: Pitche Mi, Taaw
Really nice music, quite enjoyable to listen to, and often puts a smile of my face from the energy coming through.
There are some very dated synth patches on this record. But it's a good listen.
Look I can appreciate it—it was interesting—but I’d say not my cup of tea.
Timeless album that certainly doesn't sound like its from 1984, and holds up really well today. I like how compact this album is, only 4 songs, no fat. I also like the joyous vibe from this album, really chill guitar especially on Pitche Mi and the brass isn't in your face like some of his contemporaries, eg Hugh Masakela and Fela Kuti.
Again, it's amazing how difficult it is to judge music when I know so little about the history, culture, and language from which it was derived. However, this was pretty jammy. It reminded me a lot of when I used to play in the high school jazz band - it has that kind of free-formy vibe. Also, I'm real impressed with the producing and engineering. There is a lot going on, but all the "stuff" came through crisp. Really dug it.
nekako litnji ugođaj, nije loše, al malo dosadi nakon dužeg slušanja, bilo bi dobro da su malo kraće pisme haha
A formidable ensemble, and that nice Middle Eastern tone of his tenor. (6/10) FT: Immigrés
"World music" is a dreadful term for various reasons, and it's also something that, frankly, I don't really have much experience with. As such I don't really know what I think about this cos I'm not really sure how to respond to it; I'm giving it three stars cos that seems fair, I did find it pleasing to listen to.
Giving this a fairly safe 3 stars and thought it would be great as bkg music in a film but as for me listening to it over and over, unlikely.
Enjoyable. It's not a style I'm familiar with, but this was a good listen.
A fun, vibrant LP - the longer track lengths and relative lack of vocals means this one falls into the background music category a bit, but not in a negative way.
Pretty fun to have in the background in the summer but hard to parse without knowing the lyrics
Really enjoyable, chill music. Demerits for using synths instead of real horns. Best track: Pitche Mi
Was really nice to have some Afrobeats playing as I tried to bake a cake yesterday afternoon. Some lovely stuff on here. Always happy to listen to Youssou.
World spanning vocals and grooves equally pacific, though not as astonishing as he'd create later on.
So exotic and cool. It's a pleasure to mix up my music listening and get into some afro beats.
There are far too few non-western artists on this list, so I was already feeling good about this album, just to see it here. But this is absolutely not just a token of diversity meant to appease. Rather, this is a testament to the universal language of music, which I hope will open the eyes and ears of listeners touring this list. I personally enjoyed the vibrant vocals and horns, the hypnotic drum chorus, and the iterative verse-over-verse permutations of the opening track 'Immigres/Bitim Rew' and the closing track 'Badou'. The central two tracks are much more mellow, but similarly rich in their musical texture. This is a wonderful introduction to the music of Senegal and I look forward to exploring the artists and albums of that country and region further; with or without this list's recommendations.
Un très beau recueil de sénégalaiseries proposé ici par Youssou N'Dour.
Youssou N'Dour a compilé pour nous les meilleures sénégalaiseries de son époque pour en faire un album joyeux et bigarré.
A gargoyle crawling under my foreskin turns and gives me a look that tells me I haven't cleaned myself enough lately. I panic and wonder what to do. My shame should never be known. I wank and shower him in a litre of semen. He drowns and I cry.
Upbeat music, good for early morning. I probably wouldn’t seek it out, it’s just a shame I only really hear different music like this on here. 3*
Bueno! Al fin un álbum que no es ni británico ni estadounidense, porque quien escribió este libro pareciera que piensa que lo único bueno es la música de esos países y es más que obvio que música buena hay en cualquier lado del mundo y ninguna es mejor que otra. Es bueno este disco, es distinto, y nos fuimos por un rato fuera del rock y del pop, y eso es importantísimo.
Background music for an evening rooftop party. Good food, good drink, good friends, good night.
Eh, this was ok? Fun enough but nothing I'd listen to again, even as a token foreign album. 3/5.
One of the joys of this album list is that it gets me to listen to things of which I was completely unaware, and have no preconceptions. This was such an album. I enjoyed it but am not sure I'd listen again - the sections I really enjoyed started to become repetitive quite quickly, and I am not sure if my inability to understand the lyrics setracts from my enjoyment. Overall, I'm glad to have found "something new"
First track is great. The rest is ok. Tough for Western ears to get. One star for the musicianship + one star for my white guilt.
I wouldnt mind this if I was walking past the West Holts Stage at Glasto.
Youssou N'Dour's voice is familiar to me through his work with Peter Gabriel on various albums and live performances. The music is mostly okay. I wasn't sure how to rate this album, so I listened again. At almost the same spot in the third track out of four, I checked to see how long until the album was done. There are a few points in the last two tracks where I'm done listening. I guess that makes this a 2.
first song is good and warm but nothing impressive. Female vocals are fine. Didn't care for the chill song Pitche Mi. I understand this is a good live performance feel but I'm just not engaged.
First listen. Interesting African music. I did enjoy it quite a bit after listening to it all day. Very strong 2/5.
Beschwingt, sympa, locker und in gewohnt Afrobeatig happy-krautig. Tut nicht weh, fordert aber auch nicht sonderlich 2.4
2.5 | No me terminó de convencer. Aprecio que esté bien hecho y que su calidad de compositor y mezcla con ritmos es correcta. De hecho hasta humor tenía para algo tipo Afro Beat, pero no me terminó de cuajar. Si lo comparo con algo como Fela Kuti siento que al menos en este disco Fela gana de calle facilmente. Quizá es la instrumentación, se termina escuchando con las partes electrónicas medio... apagadas? No estoy seguro pero simplemente fue un disco que vino, se fue y no encendió mucho en mí, aunque se escucha tecnicamente correcto. Para ser tantos ritmos africanos algo le falta de caracter.
Pitche Mi oli jopa ihan hyvä biisi. Ei edes vituttanut kuunnella läpi vaikka levyn ensitahdit antoi muusta viitettä.
I didn't like it very much, but it was cool to hear something totally different, and it made perfectly fine background music while I was playing a board game tonight.
Definitely mixed feelings on this one. This is definitely different from my usual listening. Overall, it's not too bad. The instruments are quite good at times but sometimes I found myself getting bored with the length of these tracks. I didn't really care for the vocals either, not because I didn't understand the language but just the overall style. I hate to shit on this album too much because it seems like something I'm just not accustomed to. I can't lie and say that I really enjoyed it though.
Senegalska pjevačica 🧐 A šta da kažen, jako neobično. A ima puno instrumenata pa mi se sviđa i ritmično je pa san si pustila dok san radila. “Moving” muzika. Slažen se
Musical syncretism. I'm sure a lot of people will rightfully find something compelling herein.
Ikke min greie. Kan anbefale Bombino med Nomad. Den liker jeg i denne sjangeren. Produsert av Dan Auerbach så da vet man ca hvordan sounden på den er.