Orchestra Baobab

Released in England last fall to rapturous reviews, Made In Dakar has landed on many British critics’ year-end, best-of lists. The Guardian called Orchestra Baobab “masters of an urban style that pairs rippling, fast-flowing guitar lines with impassioned vocals and sophisticated dance rhythms. These move effortlessly from rumba, reggae and highlife to more indigenous grooves such as mbalax and their own ‘mbalsa,’ an infectious salsa hybrid heard on the track ‘Ami Kita Bay.’” The Sunday Times agreed, declaring the group “a walking compendium of West African music, saxophones and guitars rocking in rhythm over sinuous percussion. The sleek, jazzed-up funk of ‘Colette’ - dedicated to Carlos Santana - is the work of a group that, in contrast to some of its rivals, knows no frontiers.” London’s The Mirror summed up the enthusiasm of both critics and loyal fans: “The first album in six years from this bountiful Senegalese collective glitters and tingles with rejuvenating glee, confirming their status as the jewel in the crown of African pop.”