If Leonard Cohen was a Senegalese musician then he may sound somewhat like Wasis Diop. Diop is renowned for his film work, whilst mostly responsible for scores, one of his tracks appeared on the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair, dueted with Beth Hirsch, and he has also worked with a bunch of avant garde musicians and vocalists. Judu Bek (The Joy of Living) is his first album for ten years and he has captured an amazing sound. The feel is relaxed, almost lackadasical, yet there is a subtle intensity in his gravelly vocals. Strangely enough pedal steel makes an appearance on a few of the pieces, and is incredibly effective in providing a surreal dreamy feel to the predominantly acoustic guitar based music. This may be due to producer Oz Fritz, responsible for Tom Waits Mule Variations, Master Musicians of Joujouka’ Apocalypse Across the Sky and 60+ projects with Bill Laswell. Fritz seems to provide an amazing amount of space and atmosphere, it all somehow feels late night, the instrumentation relatively minimal, Diop relaxed, close mic’d keeping everything cool. He even cover’ Leonard Cohen’ Hallelujah, and it is as delicate and beautiful as the original.
Bob Baker Fish
