The album of the summer! (...) irresistible!

 "The album of the summer! (...) irresistible!"
Ralph Boncy, Voir
"So brilliant (...) one of the best albums I have heard this year"
Sylvain Ménard, 98,5 FM
“an album of Senegalese music as filtered through Diouf’s strong vocals and the
folky, melodic, quirky, varied bits and pieces that make up Montreal(…)engaging
and charismatic tunes” 9/10
Erin MacLeod, Mirror
"songs that are so perfectly contagious"
Yves Bernard, Le Devoir
"impeccable outcome (...) a musical infatuation"
Thérèse Parisien, 98,5 FM
"Perfect to kick off the summer"
Mitsou (qualifié Coup de coeur)
"One of the best World Music albums from here"
Érich Langlois, Première-chaîne Radio-Canada - Estrie Express
Press Release
For immediate release
Montreal, May 26, 2010 – Seven years after releasing the album Dund, produced
alongside his brother in 2003, Élage Diouf presents his first solo album, Askil. True to his
roots, most of the album’s songs are in Wolof, Elage’s native tongue.
Élage Diouf’s musical career has flourished since his arrival to Quebec in 1996;
collaborations alongside Les Colocs and Ariane Moffatt, in addition to his musical
attribution to Cirque du Soleil’s Delirium – which brought him to the four corners of the
world as a member of the show’s band – all resulted in Diouf’s ability to mix traditional
Senegalese music with international sounds, to great effect. The careful fusion of
Senegalese and Brazilian percussion works in tandem with the French, English, Spanish
and Wolof languages employed throughout the album, producing a thematically open
musical work. The album title, Aksil, is a Wolof term typically signifying openness or
expressing welcome; imagine knocking at someone’s door in Senegal and having them
reply “Aksil” with all of the free spirited welcome and respect that it implies.
Writer, lyricist, producer and performer of the majority of works on the album, Élage used
Aksil as a platform to speak about subjects that mean something to him. The song Fajar is
an ode to the beauty of dawn and the wonder of the beginning of a new day. In
Demone Na (translating to “I almost did”) Élage explores the sadness felt by battered
women and through song, expresses their strive and desire to push through amidst the
suffering and lack of dignity present in their marriages.
With respect to the album’s creative process, Élage turned to his impressive roster of
musically talented friends: Jean Leloup, Mike Sawatski (Les Colocs), Jenny Salgado
(Muzion), Anastasia Feldman and Alex McMahon with production by Alain Berge and
Guy Kaye. Together, they have created an album that is authentically and undoubtedly
of the world music genre, diverse and open, and representative of the artists’
international musical career.
Élage Diouf will be performing at Metropolis on the 18th of June, with Salif Keita as the
opening act as part of the FrancoFolies de Montréal.
Album available as of May 25, 2010 in stores released by Tacca Musique and distributed by Select.
Online at www.boutiquetacca.com and in 52 countries as made available by iTunes
www.elagediouf.com
Biography
In 1996 Élage Diouf left Senegal with his brother. Introduced to music and percussions at
a very young age, the lyricist, composer and percussionist has participated in an array of
musical projects alongside Quebecois musicians since his departure from Africa –
notably Les Colocs and Ariane Moffatt. Elage has made name for himself in the world
music scene given his capacity to integrate Senegalese musical traditions with local
music trends. Resultant of his original approach to music, he was awarded a SOCAN
award in 1999 in addition to co-writing the ‘song of the year’ Tassez-Vous de d’la’
alongside Les Colocs within which he can be heard singing in his native tongue, Wolof.
After several years spent traveling across Quebec and Canada, Élage and his brother
formed a musical duo appropriately entitled ‘Diouf’. Together they released the album
Dund, earning the brothers three nominations at the ADISQ Gala in 2004 in the ‘Album of
the Year: World Music’, ‘Best New Group’ and ‘Group of the Year’ categories.
Soon after, the Diouf brothers toured the world with the Cirque du Soleil show Delirium,
working as part of the musical creation team in addition to performing and singing in the
show’s onstage band from 2006 to 2008. Élage still collaborates with Cirque du Soleil for
varied special events.
After a seven-year gap from the world music scene, Élage Diouf presents his first solo
album. Entitled Aksil, a Wolof word that translates to welcome and denotes openness,
the album is principally composed of songs sung in Elage’s native tongue, Wolof.
Accompanied by an impressive grouping of musically talented friends, counted among
which are Jean Leloup, Mike Sawatski (Les Colocs), Jenny Salgado (Muzion), Anastasia
Fiedman, Guy Kaye and Alain Berge, Aksil is unquestionably diverse, authentically world
music in genre, and reflective of the artists’ international musical journey.
www.elagediouf.com