Youssou N’Dour

Usher Hall, Edinburgh - 13/08/24

Youssou N’Dour and band, featuring Assane Thiam (talking drum) and Mamadou ‘Jimi’ Mbaye (guitar).

Senegalese singer and global music superstar Youssou N’Dour swept into Scotland’s capital last night, igniting the atmosphere in the usually more staid Usher Hall, and demonstrating to the packed throng of Edinburgh International Festival attendees his extraordinary capacity to meld cultures and, literally, move audiences.

 Backed by a revolving cast of 14 musicians, a dancer and an MC (“meet the King of African pop”!), N’Dour bobbed and weaved around the stage in a stylish cream suit and dark glasses, animating his band and conducting the adoring masses of all ages, shapes, sizes and backgrounds as they swayed hypnotically before him.

 His nearly two-hour set leaned heavily on an extensive back catalogue which spans anthemic songs like ‘Li Ma Weesu’ right through to high energy dance numbers, swinging soul and emotion-driven ballads. At first almost relentless in pace, N’Dour calmed and slowed things down a little midway through the evening, before rebuilding towards a swirling climax. 

 Rooted in the polyrhythmic Senegalese mbalax sound, and singing mainly in his native Wolof tongue, Youssou N’Dour has effortlessly absorbed into his musical palette influences ranging from Cuban dance (mambo, pachanga and rumba) to western rock. The result is both eminently accessible and engagingly artful. A battery of drums and percussion manages to locate the propulsive dance groove in his songs, while simultaneously layering rhythms in time signatures way beyond the reach of all but the most virtuosic performers.

 Foremost among these is tama (Senegalese talking drum) player Assane Thiam, who was justifiably given two solo spots, one accompanied by acrobatic overhead leaps from the dancer. Alongside saxophone and flute, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion and backing vocals, West African guitar stylings played an expectedly important role in the mix. A short spotlight was provided for the talented Mamadou ‘Jimi’ Mbaye, so-known because of the influence of Hendrix on his early playing.

 At the centre of all this stands Youssou N’Dour himself, a commanding tenor with a distinctive tone and range. Approaching 65, his voice is as strong and supple as ever, matching assertive song smithery with touches of vocal tenderness and improvisational variety. Among the highlights delighting a full hall was a bass-driven rendition of one of his best-known songs, ‘7 Seconds’, originally a trilingual hit with Neneh Cherry, and featured on  his top selling 1994 album, ‘The Guide (Wommat)’.

 Throughout the evening there were also reminders of N’Dour’s political and cultural activism, including brief homages to Kwame Nkrumah, Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela in the midst of ‘Be Africa’. The Senegalese flag was waved proudly around the stage to fusillades of percussive energy as the end of the set approached. “We don’t want to see the children suffer no more” was the accompanying message for a whole continent, and indeed for a wider, divided world.

 This joyous Usher Hall gig was a stream of faith and hope in humanity, embodied in an eclectic but well-synergised musical form. Youssou N’Dour is a true force of nature, and he did not leave Edinburgh unshaken.