In an online competition with the World Music Network label, Amadou Diagne was declared the winner of the Battle of the Bands for his track Senegal. The Senegalese percussionist, guitarist and singer-songwriter was promptly allowed to release his debut album at WMN. Diagne grew up in a griot family of Sabar drummers and praise singers and started playing percussion at the age of four. In his twenties
… he played as a percussionist in the Senegalese National Band for seven years. The experienced musician shows his great musical talent on the album Introducing. Vocal diagnoses and versatile guitar and percussion playing are subtly supplemented in some tracks with a varying line-up of cello, double bass, saxophone and kora. His singing voice is pure and expressive with a hoarse sound and his refined guitar playing is influenced by the xalam (African lute) and kora (African harp). In Wolof he sings about Senegal and its warm hospitality, about child soldiers in Somalia (Africa Stop War), the danger of child exploitation and about his religion. (SvdP)more
