Lonely Planet India – August 2019

WhileAdiouzaishappilymainstream,she
keepsherearclosetothegroundandisexcited
bythenewsoundsshehearsaroundthecity.
“Rightnow,mbalaxisthemostpopularstyle
inSenegal,butyoungartistesareinspiredtodo
somethingdifferent,”shesays.“Thereisanew
styleofmusic,Wolofbeat,whichisinfluenced
byNigerianmusic.Youngpeoplewanttomake
modern-soundingmusicthattheycanexport.”
Togetatasteofwhatthisnewgeneration
islisteningtoIgetataxiacrosstown
toEspaceVema,anightclubbelovedofDakar’s
cosmopolitanyouth,inaonce-neglected
industrialbuildingnexttothedocks.After
acoupleofstrongdrinksyoucouldeasily
believeyou’vedbeenteleportedtoBrooklyn
oroneofthetrendierpartsofeastLondon;
enteringpastagaggleofsmokersandapair
ofburlybouncers,youfindawhite-walled
warehousespacewithexposedducts
overheadandstickyfloorsunderfoot.
I’vebeeninvitedherebyJahseen,oneofthe
city’smostforward-thinkingyoungartistes.
AftergrowingupinDakar,shespenttime
livinginEuropebutwasdrawnhome
bythevibrancythatshecouldneverquite
findanywhereelse.“ThiscityisliketheSilicon
ValleyofAfrica,”shesays.“Ifyoulookaround,
you’llseethateverybodyishere:French,
American,Chinese,SriLankan.Ithink
youcanfeelthateverybodyisateasehere.
Everybodyworksandeverythingworks,
youjusthavetowakeupanddoit.”
Sureenough,tonight,thedancefloorisfilled
withpeoplefromeverycorneroftheEarth
drinking,dancingandlaughingtogetheras
theDJsseamlesslyblendAfricanandWestern
pop.Itislatebythetimewestumbleoutinto
thenight,andthesoundoftheday’straffichas
finallydiedaway.Allthat’sleftistheheartbeat
ofthecityitself.Itsoundslikeadrum.

kevinegperryhas written about music for NME,

TheGuardianand GQ. He learned one word

of Wolof,aninterjection meaning ‘Yeah’ but

pronounced‘Wow!’, which makes even mundane

conversationsoundthrilling.

TRAVEL FOR MUSIC DAKAR, SENEGAL

1. A bird's eye view
   of the Dakar coastline


2. Boats on the beach
   at Yoff, a fishing district
   on Dakar's north coast

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