Immigrés / Bitim Rew

A musician from Africa being able to record his own album was a real luxury in this time. I've listened to quite a bit of music from this region from this era and this album does not disappoint. The atmosphere here is great, very joyful and danceable. The songs are long but don't overstay their welcome whatsoever, I'd say it's too short of an album if anything. Just a fun album from an underrepresented area of the world.

Leider etwas wenig Infos um die Signifikanz des Albums zu verstehen und warum es bei den 1001 dabei ist. Finde es aber nicht unangenehm zu hören. 3 Sterne mit Sternchen

Fun, punchy, short, fantastic.

More like this please.

This is why I do the 1001 albums generator. If all the songs were as good as the first would’ve been 5/5 too.

Immigrés ist tief im senegalesischen Mbalax verwurzelt, doch die Umsetzung wirkt unausgewogen. Die dominanten Synthesizer überlagern oft die traditionellen Rhythmen und lassen die kulturelle Tiefe verblassen. N’Dours Stimme bleibt eindrucksvoll, aber die Songs ziehen sich ohne klare Entwicklung. Ein wichtiges Zeitdokument aus dem Senegal, musikalisch jedoch nicht durchgehend überzeugend.

This album feels like it covers a lot of ground in only 4 tracks. Each one is long without feeling like it's bloated or dragging on, and I really appreciate that. I tend to enjoy a lot of African & Caribbean music, and it's easy to hear the connective tissue between this and, say, the Buena Vista Social Club (Cuba). I will be using this album as an entry point to find some more African music that isn't currently on my radar.

Fun album. I wasn't a big fan of the vocal style, but the instrumentals and melody choices were great.

3.5/5.0: Very Good

this album is short but vibrant. fantastic percussion. the structure gets a bit repetitive but the energy never dips. fun listen

Love the Afrobeat like vibes, just serene chilled music for a lazy lunchtime in the sun.

Not for me

Had no idea what to expect here but pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Exporter of mbalax, a popular Senegalese music, Youssou N'Dour put together a short, accessible, and luminous record w/ Immigrés. I don't know what he sings about, but his voice is bright and elastic, the music is flavorfully upbeat, tho gets a bit too pensive on 'Pitche Mi,' and the whole thing offers moment and authority. Tho not really comparable, N'Dour's voice reminds me of the vocals on many Raï records, showcasing high and wobbling strength. The best track here is the nearly twelve minute 'Taaw,' which has the most powerful drum work and horn play. The weakest song is 'Pitche Mi,' which is an overall lull on an otherwise buoyant, compelling record: the guitar work is too smooth, lacking intensity and optimistic grit.

This guy was kind of fun. For like two minutes. It got real boring after that.

Tough one. It’s not for me, but apparently it’s a classic of the genre. I’ll give it 3 stars because I can definitely appreciate the skill and musicality. It’s not bad as background music, but I wouldn’t exactly seek it out.

2.0

No idea what was said, but decent overall. A lot of it sounded the same though. 3/5

Very cool sound

While this didn't knock my socks off, it's perfectly good Senegalese music. Yeah, the synth element is a bit of a giveaway that it's from the 80s, but it is what it is and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

January 24, 2024

Interesting, the Apple Music version had vinyl crackle in the quiet parts

Very enjoyable, not a long album but certainly feels like a workout with the individual song lengths.
On a second consecutive listen, still not tired of it so it gets my seal of approval 🦭