Awesome Tapes From Africa, the niche label/music blog that specializes in publicizing music from that continent (though the label itself is based in Los Angeles), announced that it will release Aby Ngana Diop’s first and only album, Liital, on September 2.
Liital is a revolutionary album from Senegal’s most well-known female taasukat, a practitioner of traditional Senegalese poetic storytelling that is performed over rhythmic accompaniment. On Liital, Diop’s backing track of choice was Mbalax music, a popular dance fusion of Western pop, traditional Senegalese music, and a blend of other genres. This album marked the first commercial recording of a female taasukat performing over Mbalax.
Diop died of a heart attack in 1997. Brian Shimkovitz, who helms the AFTA project, said it took “a few years of searching” for Diop’s family members to get everything sorted out for the release, but that everything has been worked out with her remaining relatives in Dakar.
The album will be released digitally and in LP, CD, and cassette formats in limited quantities.
• Awesome Tapes From Africa: http://www.awesometapes.com
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