“Music is the language of love, of laughter, of heart break, of mystery. It’s the world’s true universal language. There’s not a soul living who can deny its universal impact.” – Alicia Keys.
Sadly ostentatious for Keys, but true, the World Music genre has given us music loved by aficionados the world over with artists in this category transcending the barriers of language and culture to add a splash of colour to the much needed music scene. Very few artists have actually managed to gain an international following like Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo from Benin. Simply known as Angélique Kidjo, she is a feminist, polyglot, singer/songwriter, goodwill and cultural ambassador whose second Grammy win for Eve prompted her to release Sings in collaboration with L’Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. This album, chronicling her best may be another well deserved nominee at the Grammys next year.
An international affair in the making, the album was produced by Kidjo and her husband Jean Hébrail, with the orchestra’s Gast Waltzing and his 110-instrumental army, the choirs from Nigeria and a long list of world-class musicians, and it brings the best of Kidjo’s work over the years to life. Dropping names is passé, so I’m going to skip naming the amazing collaborators simply because the list is too long and I’d rather let you Google them later and lose yourself in their work.
A rare display of the perfect marriage between Africa’s organic vocals backed by the finesse of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Sings starts with an homage to Mama Africa or Miriam Makeba’s African standard, Malaika. This simple Swahili ballad about a poor man asking his woman for her hand in marriage and covered by numerous African artists and global stars like Harry Belafonte and Boney M, is a Kidjo staple and earns numero uno listing on Sings based on its cult status. Nailed to perfection, the orchestra and Kidjo are truly a match made in musical heaven and honestly, with Malaika on repeat, I believe this has to be the best cover I’ve heard, since scouring YouTube and trolling the internet for days brought me nothing that matched the majesty on this one.
Ominira, from her 2002 album exploring Afro-Brazilian roots evokes the musical style she mixed on Black Ivory Soul to bring out the Latin influences in her jazz vocalese, backed by a barely there yet hard-not-to-hear choir. The violins and the string section herald a lively song, to leave Kidjo, the choirs, the trumpets and the brass section to play a little game of their own until a guitar solo breaks it up leading up to the end of the song. Also from the same album that explored Afro-Brazilian jazz tunes, Bahia makes its orchestral debut. The vocal style on the original and the reworked versions aren’t different. The choir still does their barely there act while the orchestra does its thing, but it is Kidjo who plays with her voice taking it from the lower registers of the scale to the very strong higher ones with African swag, that transforms the rendition to an exceptional one.
What follows Ominira is Kelele from her reggae infused 2010 album Õÿö, the guitars and drums infusing the Afro-Caribbean influences she explored on the album. Also explored from the same album are saxophonist Sidney Bechet’s Petit Fleur, Kidjo’s only French chanson and the Yorùbá version of her collaboration with Carlos Santana Samba Pa Ti. On Petit Fleur, Kidjo pays homage to French jazz, a la Malaika, transforming a classic into something distinctly Kidjo with that rich bass in her voice commanding the orchestra. For the orchestral rendition of Samba Pa Ti, Kidjo turns the upbeat tune into something of a lullaby. Her jazz vocalese makes for the perfect companion to Gasting’s orchestra with the saxophonist belting out a solo that like the perfect cheese platter is complemented by voices that are fine as wine.
Kidjo’s fourth album Fifa (1996) is revisited with its namesake Fifa and Naima, her second collaboration with Carlos Santana. A marketing challenge internationally at the time of its release, Fifa had Kidjo exploring western soul and pop resulting in standouts like Naima and Fifa, hand picked to be on this album. Fifa is a tad slower than the original, but doesn’t lack the soul it came with, while Naima is as stunning as it sounded on the original.
Otishe, a traditional African tune and Nanae are the originals featured on Sings and explore traditional and quintessential African rhythms and tunes, a throwback to the rich vocal treasure that Africa houses in its women, something Kidjo champions throughout the album. Otishe is lively and the music makes you dance while Nanae is my personal favourite. The lyrics, Beninese drummers, choirs and guitar solos that crop up here and there add layers to an original that is worthy of basking in the glory her previous hits enjoy.
Loloye, the final track is taken from her fifth international best-seller Oremi. This version is a fitting one to close the album. With a textured treatment, both instrumentally and vocally befitting the original, meted out as the curtain falls on an experience of a lifetime, Loloye ends the perfectly assembled album.
It is hard to pick favourites on an album that is a collection of the best. The orchestrated versions are not far from the originals and you’d have to be tone deaf, not linguistically familiar with French, Yorùbá or Fon to dismiss the diva of African music as she plays with her voice. If you expected the African songbird to chirp as the orchestra plays – because that’s what most artists do – you’d be disappointed. Instead, prepare yourself to hear an African lioness roar and belt tunes at 60 with the same élan as she did years ago. Pick it up for the solid voice that is Kidjo and for Waltzing’s meticulous conducting as he plays Thelma to Angélique’s wickedly fantastic Louise.
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