大象传媒

Continuing 6 music's coverage of the WOMAD festival Cerys is in conversation with one of this year's headliners, the Senegalese music Baaba Maal. In a programme first broadcast on the 大象传媒 World Service she talks to an artist who has become known for his fusion of pop and rock with African styles and has released over 11 albums in his career, spanning everything from traditional acoustic styles to big pop productions.

From modest beginnings as the son of a fisherman in the town of Podor in northern Senegal, Baaba Maal broke the mould from an early age, deciding to follow his passion for music even though he was not born into the traditional musical caste. But despite the odds Baaba has grown to be a household name, wowing audiences with his electrifying voice and live performance, curating his own festival in Senegal and collaborating with Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Tony Allen, U2 and producer John Leckie.

Now he uses his global fame to campaign for human rights while continuing to release his own brand of genre-hopping music and he shows no sign of slowing down.

Over the course of an hour Baaba takes us back to a childhood spent listening to his father芒鈧琓Ms call to prayer and his mother芒鈧琓Ms folk songs along the banks of the Senegal river. We hear about his early adventures across West Africa learning his trade alongside long-time collaborator Mansour Seck, meeting Chris Blackwell of Island records and his rise to fame in the 90s, and why he considers it his responsibility to use music as a tool for change in Africa.