Liital

Aby Ngana Diop – Liital

In lieu of that new cassette deck I am posting something special, a tape by Aby Ngana Diop, which was sent to me by a loyal reader. His laid back assurance that “it’s a good tape” might be the understatement of the moment.

Aby Ngana Diop’s first song conjures drum n’ bass circa 1993 lurking in the shadows of the most brutal Senegalese sabar drums Dakar has to offer. And the rest of the tape just gets more astounding. Don’t even get me started on Face B. All highly frenetic and joyous and brilliant.

This is the kind of tape for which I reserve a certain level of enthusiasm, one that is so good and left-field that I don’t know whether to shout from the rooftops or bury the thing in my backyard.

Update: you can now purchase Aby Ngana Diop, legally-licensed from her family, on LP/CD/Tape right here. You can also watch her incredible music video for the song Dieuleul-Dieuleul here.

Face A
Dieuleul-Dieuleul
Ndame
Yaye Penda Mbaye

 

Face B
Liital
Sapaly
Ndadje

31 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

  • January 22, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    One of my favorites…

  • January 22, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    That song “Liital.” Wow. Just…wow.

  • January 22, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    Wow! I love the musique concrete bits. Best post in months.

  • January 22, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    M.I.T.’s Professor Patricia Tang has also made at least one presentation regarding this genre, and specifically talking about the “Dieuleul” song. If I remember correctly: “take it, take it, take it; if you want it, take it.” Those with a scholarly inclination (and the interest) can surely find the published version of that brief paper. Lest I forget to mention: the music is, not just great, but kick ass!

  • January 22, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    The music is great. I love the cover, too. I never that new my kindly grandma made this kind of music.

  • January 23, 2010 at 5:02 am

    I thought I was the only person who owned this cassette. Really great music.

  • January 26, 2010 at 8:24 pm

    liiital made me to say that this is best one

    musiklot.com/blog/wp-login.php

  • January 27, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    Steve Jones, founder and guitarist of the Sex Pistols, will be live on location at the Sundance Film Festival throughout the week for in depth interviews with guests such as Bob Saget, Adrian Grenier, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter and many more. These special interviews will be held throughout the week and aired live daily at 12PST on “Jonesy’s Jukebox” available exclusively on IAMROGUE.com. So, tune in to “Jonesy’s Jukebox” for special Sundance interviews all week airing exclusively on iamrogue.com.

  • January 28, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    there is mistake in the tracks but not so good

    musiklot.com/blog/

  • February 1, 2010 at 3:58 am

    thank you for this one! it is awesome as you have noted.

  • February 1, 2010 at 9:09 am

    The first track – Dieuleul-Dieuleul is sampled and slowed down at the start of NWA – Express Yourself.

  • February 1, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    yeah this one is wild

  • February 7, 2010 at 3:22 pm

    yup, fantastic!
    thanks, loyal reader!

  • February 8, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    wow!

  • February 9, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    This tape is out of control! Great blog. I think of it often as I wander the tape markets in India. I haven’t given into the urge to start digging yet though. I really should buy a tape player soon. peace.

    (http://rotofthestars.blogspot.com)

  • February 11, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    I can’t even believe how good this is.

  • February 19, 2010 at 10:39 am

    any chance of a higher quality mp3 or wav? either way thanks a lot for posting this it is amazing!!

  • March 5, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Holy Hell this is incredible.

  • March 9, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    man this is truly amazing stuff. how can i get this on my computer? i must have this!! AAAAHHGGHH

  • March 11, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    THankyou for excellent taste and generosity

  • March 25, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    Burn it, bury it kill a chicken and pour its blood over the dirt where this is buried so it never, never comes to life again.

  • April 19, 2010 at 1:38 am

    YO B-

    the iformation age IS conveniant- someone dropped this on WFMU tonight and a commenter reminded us that you had posted it… fuck yes. steady locked

  • April 24, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    WoW!!!

  • May 10, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    Amazing stuff. I actually have my own copy found in a Senegalese shop on 116th St. in Manhattan (if I recall correctly) a few years ago which I’ve played on WFMU. I’m not a music blogger but I’m amazed at what unlikely artifacts from my collection are turning up in the blogosphere these days. But this is definitely the right place for this one – one might say definitive (as in awesome)!

  • July 8, 2010 at 6:31 am

    She’s commanding me to do something, but I don’t know what it is. Creepy, hypnotic, the perfect music for my pizza delivery gig. THank you.

  • September 6, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    Huh, quite something different than the mbalax etoille de dakar is offering…nice!

  • October 22, 2010 at 8:13 am

    FANTASTIC. THANKS SOOOO MUCH FOR THIS!

  • November 17, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    fabuleux,merci beaucoup,bravo pour votre travail,merci encore,

  • December 19, 2010 at 5:52 am

    I cant believe this tape

  • June 26, 2014 at 12:21 am

    […] Aby Ngana Diop was the most famous taasukat in Dakar, Senegal in the 1980s and 1990s. Taasu is a Wolof-language poetic style, usually performed by women griots over frenetic drum patterns, with an aggressive verbal flow thought to presage rap. Her only album Liital was groundbreaking in the history of Senegalese music because it was the first commercial recording to feature a traditional female taasukat performing to the modern accompaniment of mbalax, Senegal’s quintessential pop genre. […]

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