Alioune Mbaye Nder is a Senegalese Singer. Nder takes his name from the n'der, the drum favoured by his griot

Griot

A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...

 father.

Background

A dancer and percussionist in his youth, Nder began his singing career in 1991 with the group Lemzo Diamono, a break-off group from the hugely popular Super Diamono. Lemzo Diamono also included well-known Senegalese guitarist Lamine Faye. In 1993, Nder became Lemzo Diamono's lead vocalist and the band earned a large following over the next few years. In 1995 Nder left Lemzo Diamano to form his own band, the Setsima Group.

Nder, whose music until very recently was mostly available only on cassette, is regarded in Senegal as a modern day griot

Griot

A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...

 and a super star of the new (Boul Falé) generation after Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...

 and Baaba Maal

Baaba Maal

Baaba Maal is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made a UNDP Youth Emissary.-Biography:Born 12 November 1953...

. He is known in Senegal as The Prince of Mbalax, and by some fans, The King of Mbalax.

Mbalax

Mbalax

Mbalax is the national popular dance music of Senegal and The Gambia. Mbalax is a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal...

 is a genre of African popular music developed in Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 and Gambia. Evolving from the traditional rhythms of the Wolof

Wolof language

Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...

 people, and absorbing a Cuban influence, and later western pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, and reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 influences. It incorporates traditional percussion instruments and singing (in Wolof

Wolof language

Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, and sometimes English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

), with modern electric instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, synthesizer, drum set, and also typically brass section. It was made popular by Senegalese pop star Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...

.

Two of Nder's heroes are Bob Marley

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

 and Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

.

Le Setsima Group

Nder created le Setsima Group from young players who he could mold and grow alongside, and it has remained a tight formation with just a few personnel changes since then. Dakar's Le Temoin wrote, "The arrangements essentially done by the young musicians of le Setsima Group can easily compete with those traditionally realized by 'studio sharks.' What great art!"

Band members

• Alioune Mbaye Nder (lead vocals)
• Aïcha Koné, Mbene Seck (backing vocals)
• Talla Seck, Lamine Touré (percussion)
• Malick Diaw (guitar)
• Saliou Ba (bass)
• Ibou Tall, Elou Fall (keyboards)
• Bassirou Mbaye (drums)
• Ibou Konaté, Mor Sarr (brass)

Discography

Nder & le Setsima Group:

• Confiance(2007) - KSF Productions
• Courage (2005) - KSF Productions
• Muchano (2003) - KSF Productions
• Lu Tax? (2002)
• Takussaan à Dakar (Live), (2002) - Africa Fête AFD006
• Live anniversaire vol. 2 (Live), (2001)
• Live anniversaire vol. 1 (Live), (2001)
• Super Thiof (2000)
• Pansement (2000) - Africa Fête AFD003/Setsima
• Nder & le Setsima Group (1999) - World Connection WC 43010
• Aladji (1998)
• Lënëën (1997)
• Aduna (1995)

With Lemzo Diamono:

• Marimbalax (Compilation), (1996) - Stern's

--
(Note) The majority of Nder's music is still only available on local cassette

Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

, and only within Senegal. CD versions of Pansement and Nder & le Setsima Group are more widely available in Europe however.

External links

• Video Clip of Nder & le Setsima Group
• Video Clip of Nder performing with Youssou N'dour
• Interview with Nder
• Afropop Artist Nder
• Africa Fête - (Record Label and Booking Agent of Nder) (fr)
• Africa Fest - Alioune Mbaye Nder
• Musique Senglaise - Nder & Le Setsima Group (fr)
• Frank Bessem's Musiques D'Afrique - Nder