Xelu Sowu in wolof could be translated as the Spirit of the West. With this title I wanted to symbolise the feeling of adventure and freedom that this american expression evokes as well as the emphasis that is put on the music of west Africa in this new set of compositions.

This CD has the same basic concept as Muzungu : I mixed African rhythms (more or less changed) with jazz and neo-classical european music. All these elements influence each other : the rhythms adjust themselves to the melodies, which also become richer with harmonic extensions and syncopations.

A special emphasis is put on the music of Senegal and the mandingo area, but two pieces are inspired by Congo and two others bring us even more to the West, on the other side of the Atlantic, towards Brazil, the most mixed country in the world.

Most of these pieces have been composed in a short period of time. This gives a certain unity to the set despite the variety of inspiration sources … anyway this is what I hope !

The tunes are rather long for two reasons : to allow the various elements to fit into their place and also to give the soloists some room to express themselves. I wish to believe that this is not dragging things and that the listener will find pleasure and emotion when listening to them.

For Xelu Sowu, I could benefit from the same great team as in Muzungu with some newcomers such as Serigne Gueye (percussions) and Emanuelle Somer (English horn and oboe).