Immigrés

Fun Senegalese album. Nothing too groundbreaking though.

super cool album! not sure if i would go back to it, but i enjoy this exposure to albums like this

I think I heard this on a cruise once

Super good grooves and musicianship throughout. 3.5, rounded to 4.

I really like his voice and the music is very good too. Obviously, I have no clue what he's saying, but it sounds good.

Not really a fan of this (о´∀`о)

What a beautiful album, joyful and diverse. Will get back to this!

7 Seconds je jedino što sam znala i čvrstog sam uvjerenja da je to najbolja "pop" ili šta god pjesma ikad tako da me ovo baš zanimalo. Opravdalo je sva očekivanja. Divan divan glas prije svega. Kompaktan i nedosadan album.

3. Digging that electric guitar

This is great, musically. A very nice groove in their sound with the drums & bass. I did not care for his singing voice, not that it was a different language. It just was not pleasing to my ear, though still listenable. 3

Does nothing for me

A big bundle of rhythmic joy. So good

Dope stuff!

i enjoyed this album, as my first intro to senegalese music ever! many of the percussive riffs are still stuck in my head after listening

a delight to listen to, especially since it would have taken me ages, if ever, to discover Senegalese funk (?) on my own. i liked the variety of instrumentals and rhythms but admit that the album was very front-loaded. the first two tracks were absolutely delightful, with vocals that immediately brought me déjà vu sensations of a hazy vacation i might have once taken. even if the latter half of the album was weaker, i appreciate that the whole project was short and sweet, without being samey. glad to have listened to this

I actually liked this more than I thought I would, but it's just mostly not for me. Favorite track: Pitche Mi

Para ser algo que no acostumbro la verdad que las bases me parecieron muy buenas. entiendo que es parte de la cultura ese estilo de canto, pero no me molesto. nose si es algo que escucharia, pero no me molesto escuchalro, y los sonidos me encantaron.

This rips but it’s hard to justify an almost 12 minute song that never leaves the A section and with no dynamic changes.

não da pra ouvir, horrível, mas pode ser uma questão de cultura..

Album 347. Immigrés — Youssou N'Dour (1984) Fantastic. This is the first time I've ever heard Senegalese music. It was such a unique experience to listen to it on public transport... Moreover, I think it's great music for zen and idgaf 4/5 Liked: — Immigrés/Bitim Rew — Pitche Mi — Badou

This album gets the distinction of being what I was listening to when I found out my grandma died! 👍

More songs to do office work to.

First heard Youssou N’Dour thru Peter Gabriel, but I have many of his albums including this one. His voice is always calming without being bland. No idea what he is saying and just treat his voice as another instrument. Also the guitar work feels almost like Bachata guitar at moments. I always love when this comes on thru my random shuffle mode. Always fits the mood.

N’Dour’s voice is iconic. So I was excited to listen to this. But I gotta say, it was a little disappointing. Other than his voice, I found the music uninteresting. I’ve loved collaborations I’ve heard with him, and maybe I’d like some of his other work, but this one was a no for me, despite his amazing vocals.

I’ve always really enjoyed Youssou N’Dour’s “7 Seconds” with Neneh Cherry. It’s a brilliant song, so I was looking forward to giving Immigrés a listen today and discovering more of his music. I really enjoyed this. It’s not the sort of music I would normally choose to listen to, and I do sometimes struggle with albums where I can’t understand the lyrics. However, that didn’t stop me appreciating just how good the music is on this record. The production is excellent. The drums and percussion sound fantastic, the guitar playing is lovely, and Youssou N’Dour has a beautiful voice. There’s so much rhythm and energy throughout, and even without understanding the words, you can hear the emotion and passion in his singing. What also works in the album’s favour is its length. With just four tracks, it never outstays its welcome. There is some repetition in the rhythms and melodies, but the album is short enough that it never becomes boring or starts to feel too familiar. This is exactly the sort of discovery I enjoy about this challenge. An album I probably would never have listened to otherwise, but one that I genuinely enjoyed. It’s beautifully performed, full of interesting sounds and well worth a listen. Favourite track: “Pitche Mi”. A really enjoyable track with some lovely guitar playing and great music throughout. Least favourite track: Nothing really. Everything was worth a listen. Album artwork: Not exactly the sort of album cover I’d want hanging on the walls at home!

Vrolijke ritmes

Heel druk, en dacht dat het telkens hetzelfde liedje was

A short but interesting album that had me focused on the music throughout. The artist isn't new to me but these songs were. I really enjoyed them and the album as a whole. Not something I will listen to often or perhaps ever again but definitely something I am richer having heard and a great example of things I love to find on this list.

Outstanding!

Pitche Mi is very, very beautiful. Those synth chords sound so ethereal over the jammy bass riff, and those super tasteful drums. Just great stuff. Love how dynamic it is, all of the places it goes. The title track had a weird cheesy quality to it? Really didn't click with me. "Taaw" though, with waves of syncopated percussion, really tight guitar noodling, and punchy horn stabs really locks in a hypnotic grip. Unbelievable groove on this one. Badou is solid, but those two tracks I elaborated on are real beasts, and elevate this album a lot. Great album, and out of 22 albums I've heard thus far, only the second I haven't heard yet!

Great production, amazing style and performance. Also mandatory extra listen of 7 seconds. The African continent has some appearances on this list here and there and it’s almost always good vibes.

excellent. Very percussion forward, jumps into a groove and hangs out there. Almost hypnotic.

I'd heard of Youssou N'Dour, but didn't know what to expect of this album; didn't even know what aspects to focus on while listening, decided to just enjoy. There are many pleasant and interesting elements, I did feel that balance of vocals, instruments and percussion was not totally to my taste. Normally, to understand music not in English (or if I can't understand English lyrics), I would look for transcriptions, where necessary translations, and explanations: these seem hard to find for this album. The real lyrics for title track (disregarding 'popular' spoof (fake) translation) are estimable, which suggests that meaning of other tracks would be worth attending to, but I couldn't. Anyway, I enjoyed the album, though not wowed. It's Good, 7/10.

Gorgeous album. The percussion is great. I really liked the vocals, and I always love it when saxophones show up. Woke up to fog this morning and this album feels like a good antidote to that. Very difficult to pick a favourite and least favourite as I enjoyed all the tracks. Fav song: Pitche Mi Least fav: Taaw

Great vibe in this one. Love the cover also. Short and sweet, all the songs felt quite similar so it’s hard to choose a fav and least fav. Specific rating - 4.1 Fav song - badou Least fav - immigres

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked this!! I really enjoyed the vocal layerings and especially the percussion elements of the songs were really good. I also like all the horns that were used and it was just a really joyful album in general. I really hope we get more acts from outside of America and England so I can experience different styles of music. But yeah really enjoyed this one, 4.011/5

i don’t get it fully, but yeah sure

It’s a nice vibe

Best parts get into a hypnotic groove

love the varied instrument choices here, and the vocals are also quite enjoyable.

Nice and broadly instrumental. I wish there was more variance internally to each track? There was enough between each song. Half the track length and twice the tracks would have made it a better listen for me.

I like african music in general, but I think I prefer afrobeat and jazz forms more than this. still a nice listen. 3/5.

An album that subverts expectations, since it goes much beyond the percussion that was advertised. Will definitely need to take a further look into N'Dour's discography. This is precisely the sort of album that I signed into the list for. 8/10 [KEEP]

Mmkay

Pleasant enough

He has Z great voice, I only know him from collaboration with Nena Cherry which is sad, but this album was ok, without being anything special tbh

It turns out that Senegalese music is just ridiculously good. I didn't get into this quite as much as Djam Leelii, but this album does have a lot of the same appeal. The songs sound relatively simple, but they are hiding incredibly intricate guitar and percussion, and the cumulative effect of everything is just dizzying and spellbinding. The fuller arrangements here keep this from being as stark as Djam Leelii, but it does still carry a lot of the same magic. Pitche Mi and Taaw are my favorites here. Pitche Mi is beautiful in almost a mournful way. While Taaw is easily the most intricate sounding song on here. Just watching it evolve through it's runtime is utterly delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed the other two songs as well, but I didn't have as strong a reaction. Even if this isn't *quite* a 5, I'm gonna be thinking about this album, and listening to it a hell of a lot more than I thought.

Veikeä, harvalle ajalle sopiva mutta oikeassa paikassa viihdyttävä

absolutely loved it.

Amazing percussion and just a fantastic vibe. Not sure if I'm 1 day or 2 days late on this one with the time difference but it was a great airport listen either way.

Didn't understand a thing, but it was enjoyable!

Cool, funky rhythms. Great percussion. I enjoyed this quite a bit. 4/5

i play it more safe than this

Ça va

Nice album, unknown to me. Good but not blown away. 3/5

Album incredibile, mai sentito nulla di simile, percussioni pazzesche e bassline ottime

fun and cool

Groovin. Kinda felt like a long Talking Heads jam on repeat.

284. nice 2.5

Surprisingly joyful yet chill jam, was on the fence of a 3.5 but gonna round up because I actually kinda appreciated how short it was

These types of surprise recommendations are exactly why I signed up for this!! Guy on the cover looks incredible

3 out of 5. Solid album here.

Youssou N'dour's voice is very distinctive; I've never liked it. The music is very rhythmic, very percussive. Interesting guitars and brass. Unfortunately, I don't like this mix at all, and N'dour's voice is the key element. It has something cartoonish about it. Not what I want in a good song. Don't get me wrong, the album is certainly something special, interesting for a European listener, but I just can't connect with it.

Enjoyed

The cover photo sets the mood - it’s just a good time.

Average

Didn't care for it.

That was a fun Monday groove for me.

This is the vibe I was hoping for today. Sure is nice to get something I've never heard before.

Id prefer it if each track was shorter and there was no singing. A few nice melodies here and there, but ultimately it's a wailing din.

Хороший африканський альбом. Жанр, як я дізнався, називається мбалакс. Я таку музику люблю і завжди слухаю з задоволенням (особливо наживо, якщо така можливість випадає). Поставив 3.5, але тут можна і 4.

Superb

This is one of several albums that, while the odds that I ever listen to it again are low, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. The guitar playing is excellent, and the somewhat repetitive (to my American ears) vocals give it a mantra-like sound and vibe. It’s a record that I’d enjoy owning on vinyl and spinning from time to time.

This was very enjoyable. It has the potential for many ‘mama appelsapjes’. iykyk

Immigrés/Bitim Rew definitely leaves a sour taste in the listener's mouth. It's messy and disjointed, in no small part due to the very odd accenting choices in the percussion lines. Though I will give N'Dour credit for going all-out on textural diversity. There are so many little tidbits to pick out in the percussion that it ends up becoming the star of the show even despite the off-putting rhythms. Not a big fan of the vocal contributions, which sound sort of untrained and off-pitch a lot of the time, and (like some of the drumming) seem extraordinarily reluctant to produce a melody that accurately follows the beat. They certainly didn't pioneer that style with this album, given it came out in the mid-80s, so at this point I struggle to understand why the album makes the list. (Those horns, though... groovy as heck.) Pitche Mi has a similar issue with rhythm. From the very beginning, it commits to a sort of semi-shuffle – one might describe it as "in the pocket" – but something about it is a lot less convincing than John Bonham. We do get a smoother groove here (those guitar lines and soft backing synths are great) that has a lot more staying power than in the opener. Taaw excels too: fantastic guitar lines that take you on a journey, smooth, well-played bass, and drumming that, while a little disjointed, still gives you your money's worth complexity-wise. At nearly 12 minutes long, and without any sort of progression throughout, it definitely drags. (Does the prog rock revolution mean nothing to you, N'Dour?) Still, a pretty solid effort. In Badou we get the first drum beat that's actually, well, on beat. It takes a little time to adjust to the 12/8 rhythm, but once you're there, the music bounces you steadily along, through a mess of harmonised vocals and (again) solid guitar and bass. A decent way to finish. 3/5 Key tracks: Pitche Mi, Taaw

Nice drumming

1. reuu - 1 2. pitch - 1 3. tauu - 1 4. badou - 1

very good

Interesante. Me gustaría entender qué dice pero no me gustó tanto como para ponerle esa atención.

This had an almost Cuban feeling at times.

The music is good. The vocals, less so. But there's not a lot of that here. I enjoyed this, as most of my African music exposure is either afrobeat or desert blues. Good times.

Nicht meine Musikrichtung 2/5

Uh oh. I dropped my late-stage capitalism deflection propaganda in this fresh concrete. Must use French scapegoat instructions. Immigrés?!? What the hell is that?? Nyahh. Another day, another uhh slay. Yes, we have our token world music entry as the author of the book is fidgeting in his throne waiting to tell us all about a lousy electronica outfit from Clapham tomorrow. This was fine. I tend to enjoy music from Africa when I do have the chance to hear it, but this felt a little repetitive and vocal heavy for me. Not a bad record, but I can't help feeling as though this could've been a stronger day. Maybe we could've ditched a couple Bowie albums and added some more Malian music? How about some Springsteen bites the dust in favour of, well, anything. 2 HIGHLIGHTS: B.U.M Equipment branded coffins (?)

Perfect listening, also, fun hat.

Great grooves!

Idk this but i like it

Было интересно послушать этот альбом ввиду его языковой и музыкальной уникальности. При этом я бы сказал, что мне понравилась только вторая композиция, когда каждая из остальных показалась слишком уж цикличной и однотипно звучащей

Much better than expected :) 3.5

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This is the lesser known music that I signed up for, not a white man's nostalgia for psychedelic days that I've been getting lately.

I remember Youssou N'Dour on 'In your eyes', 'shaking the tree' and 'seven seconds away', thinking he had one of the most distinctive voices in World music and the whole Peter Gabriel/WOMAD scene. This 1984 effort was apparently the recording that opened the ears of the wider world to his music. It doesn't do a great deal for me but its polyththmic displacements can be intriguing, it's four long tracks that repeat a lot with Youssou's unique improvisations. Clearly fine music of its kind but I regrettably prefer his contribution to western music.

Mid 80s African music. Made him internationally famous.

Exactly the kind of thing I wish this list had more of. This isn't hugely my thing or anything, but it's so much more refreshing than the 500th Bruce Springsteen album I've had in a row. Maybe I could have enjoyed this more if I were more exposed to this kind of music, but instead I have to listen to album after album of psych rock bullshit from the late 60s.

4.5 This was great, loving the African music on this list and this was just such a blast to listen to.

Bon disque

Another one where I'm enjoying the vibe without understanding much else but I had a good time

Eh, not for me. Wasn’t what I was hoping for.

I liked this a lot, nicely done!

Very nice African music