Cheikh Lo

CHEIKH LO plus special guest

 Cheikh Lô looks like good fun from the off, attractive, unique, with Ray Bans glued onto a craggy face. An extremely slender frame enveloped by dreadlocks that mark out his membership of the Muslim sect Baye Fall; a wide-braided leather necklace, offering protection from the evil eye. Cheikh Lô has added a personal touch to this spiritual shield: embroidered tunics and a woven cotton frock coat complement the jeans, with their deliberate rips, finished off by sneakers with a pop art design. Sometimes, he'll be wearing a hat. He's swag. 

These adornments provide a stage for the voice. And the voice of Cheikh Lô is unique, cosmopolitan, graceful, slender and high-pitched, pulsating irregularly. It can also switch suddenly to the bass line of Afro-beat, since the Nigerian Fela Kuti had left his mark on Senegal and Burkina Faso as well. And Cheikh also worked with the historical Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen in 2010. 

‘The effect on first hearing is positively spine-tingling – and it gets better with every play. Astonishingly assured for a debut. Warm and intimate with a spiritual quality.’ The Times