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DABY BLADE
With a seven-piece band and widely hailed as the next successor to Baba Maal and Youssou N'Dour, Daby Balde is a West African Star on the rise! Strikingly rich and beautiful melodies, captivating vocals and a repertoire that ranges from the euphoric to the melancholic, Daby Balde sings in Wolof, Mandinka, French and Fula. With stunning arrangements based on the Fula traditions featuring fiddle, accordion and flute alongside the more familiar West African sounds of the kora, acoustic guitar and percussion, this is unmissable music.
Festival appearances include WOMAD/Radio 3 performances, National Theatre, Rise and Kilburn Festival, Marlborough Jazz Festival, Bath International Guitar Festival, Wickham Festival and Croydon Festival.
“Ssshhhhh.....it’s another great Senegalese singer. Daby Balde could well be the best secret you’ve yet to hear.” WOMAD 2006
“It is probably a completely out-of-the-box comparison, but in places you might imagine that you are listening to an African version of the Waterboys circa Fisherman’s Blues or Van Morrison in his more mystic vein. Highly recommended” Nigel Williamson - The Eye
“To judge from his debut album, Introducing Daby Balde, it sounds as if Daby Balde may well emerge as a major figure to stand alongside internationally established Senegalese singers Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal........wonderfully assured full of subtle details.” Charlie Gillettt - BBC Radio London
