Firin' in Fouta
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Firin' in Fouta
| type = album
| artist = Baaba Maal
| cover = Firin in Fouta.jpg
| alt =
| released = October 24, 1994Library of Congress copyright registration SR0000200067
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 55:04
| label = Mango{{Cite web|url=http://chicagoreader.com/music/baaba-maal-2/|title=Baaba Maal|date=16 July 1998|website=Chicago Reader}}
| producer = Simon Emmerson
| prev_title = Wango
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = Gorel
| next_year = 1995
}}
Firin' in Fouta is an album by the Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, released in 1994.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/baaba-maal-mn0000061273/biography|title=Baaba Maal Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}{{cite journal |last1=Santoro |first1=Gene |title=Our holiday lists |journal=The Nation |date=Dec 26, 1994 |volume=259 |issue=22 |page=814}}
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best World Music Album" category.{{cite web |title=Baaba Maal |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/baaba-maal/11919 |website=Recording Academy |access-date=2 July 2022}} Maal supported the album with a North American tour.{{cite news |last1=Wartofsky |first1=Alona |title=POP MUSIC |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=22 Jan 1995 |page=G3}}
Production
The album was produced by Simon Emmerson.{{cite magazine |title=Album reviews — Firin' In Fouta by Baaba Maal |magazine=Billboard |date=Nov 26, 1994 |volume=106 |issue=48 |page=100}} It was recorded in Podor and Dakar, in Senegal, and at London's Real World Studios.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajMsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music|date=11 January 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-09562-7 |via=Google Books}}{{cite news |last1=Kot |first1=Greg |title=CROSSING CULTURES |work=Chicago Tribune |date=20 Jan 1995 |department=Friday |page=O}}
Dónal Lunny and Simon Jeffes were among the musicians who contributed to Firin' in Fouta.{{cite news |last1=Levesque |first1=Roger |title=BAABA MAAL: Firin' In Fouta |work=Edmonton Journal |date=2 Jan 1995 |page=B8}} Positive Black Soul appeared on "Swing Yela".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4q8Go919P3kC&pg=PA15|title=Hip Hop Africa: New African Music in a Globalizing World|first=Eric S.|last=Charry|date=2 July 2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-00307-2 |via=Google Books}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUg4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT169|title=Music, Space and Place: Popular Music and Cultural Identity|first=Andy|last=Bennett|date=3 October 2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-21780-4 |via=Google Books}}
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score ={{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/firin-in-fouta-mw0000119094|title=Baaba Maal - Firin' in Fouta Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = Robert Christgau
|rev2score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm2}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Baaba+Maal|title=Robert Christgau: CG: Baaba Maal|website=www.robertchristgau.com}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=1998 |publisher=MUZE |volume=V |page=3381}}
|rev4 = The Guardian
|rev4score = {{rating|4|4}}{{cite news |last1=Denselow |first1=Robin |title=Pop |work=The Guardian |date=4 Nov 1994 |department=The Guardian Features Page}}
}}
The Guardian wrote that "Baaba Maal adds to the new experimental fusion of traditional styles and ultra-modern influences with his bravest and most startling album to date." The Independent determined that Maal's "plaintive Islamic ululations are brilliantly blended with arrangements that may borrow from hip-hop, salsa and ragga."{{cite news |title=RECORDS |work=The Independent |date=27 Nov 1994 |department=The Sunday Review Page}} The Baltimore Sun noted that "some songs are nearly worlds unto themselves, like the loping, hypnotic 'Sama Duniya', which mixes West African percussion, an East Indian drone, dancehall bass and funk clavinet into a near irresistible rhythmic stew."{{cite news |last1=Considine |first1=J.D. |title=FIRIN' IN FOUTA Baaba Maal |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=20 Jan 1995 |department=MD. LIVE |page=8}}
The Gazette considered "African Woman" to be the album's best song, writing that it "begins with a hint of bouncy Colombian cumbia but quickly becomes a blazing Afro-Latin stew."{{cite news |last1=Feist |first1=Daniel |title=BAABA MAAL Firin' in Fouta |work=The Gazette |date=3 Dec 1994 |page=D4}} The Globe and Mail concluded that "what stands out is Maal's exquisite ululating tenor, a voice so sweet and mournful, delicate and powerful that it seems to bridge the gap of language and culture all by its lonesome."{{cite news |last1=Dafoe |first1=Chris |title=RECORDINGS POP FIRIN' IN FOUTA Baaba Maal |work=The Globe and Mail |date=10 Dec 1994 |page=C17}}
AllMusic wrote that "the keyboards and, more importantly, the drum loops give the songs a deep European club feel along with a strong push in the way of the vocals."
Track listing
- "Sidiki" – 4:53
- "African Woman" – 6:05
- "Swing Yela" – 4:24
- "Mbaye" – 5:01
- "Njilou" – 5:30
- "Gorel" – 5:28
- "Sama Duniya" – 5:19
- "Salimoun" (Funky Kora) – 5:02
- "Ba" – 7:14
- "Tiedo" – 6:08
References
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