(apenas em inglês)
"Patience is the golden path". Marcel Salem knows it. He lived this African proverb in his own flesh. He was nicknamed Liga Thiaw in Senegal, the Mute in Serer, only pronounced his first words at the age of seven. One day, when the bell of the church of Mont-Rolland, his native village, rang, Marcel asked his older brother to feed the siblings while their mother was in the field. First words coming out of his mouth. Feed his family. It is also the quest of adventurers hoping to return to the country with a little money.
Marcel, like every Serer, is the son of the earth. Petit, he digs, digs, spades, sows and harvests tomatoes and corn that he will sell after the wintering in Thiès. Cultivators descendants of Falashas, the family is Catholic from the nineteenth century, in the line of the seminary of Ngazobil. Marcel's father, who wanted to be a priest, sings in the church of Mont-Rolland and cradles his son in Latin. He transmits to him a creed that will never leave Marcel: "as long as you live, you can learn." Then Marcel leaves to explore the world, leaving his verdant hills and the sacred spring of Mount Rolland, dried up by the hand of the man. The school of life. Housekeeping, seller of rice, fagots, glazier, mechanic ...: all works are good to fill the "condemned box" where Marcel keeps savings for his. The sweat of his pearl brow. Marcel is a practicing nervous: he can not stand injustice, defends the weak on every occasion. He discovers celebrity by becoming a professional boxer but also the dubious practices of this environment that leaves him without a penny in his pocket. He continues his journey on the roads of West Africa (Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria ...) There, Marcel Salem meets the shock of Fela who will mark his music. It was in Côte d'Ivoire that Marcel bought his first guitar. Self-taught, he scribbles in secret whole notebooks of words. After 12 years of adventure, return to Senegal, his box condemned empty, but head filled with texts and sounds. Reggae will be its mode of expression. Because after an epic under the sign of hunger, one is necessarily revolutionary. The music of Peter Tosh influence, more complex with his range changes than that of Marley. Sentimental with eclectic tastes, Marcel draws his inspiration from BB King through Bob Dylan and Nina Simone. It is especially a point of honor to revisit the traditional rhythms of Ndut and to sing in serer.
MARCEL SALEM - In three albums:
CARROY 44, Marcel Salem's debut album released in 2006, danced to the sound of mblim. The reggae roots become African. Brass sounds like angels coming from heaven. Texts written in ink of a double fervor, Christian and rural. Salem addresses the new generations and signs with Baapa a call to return to the land and solidarity between generation. Aana Sow sings gratitude to the crossed brothers on her way. Carroy 44 pays tribute to the Senegalese riflemen ...
The second album of Marcel Salem, AFRICA VIGILANCE, composed under the freshness of a baobab and released in 2008, feeds on African tradition. The sweetness of the kora mingles with Salem's cry of alarm that mourns a sick continent, denounces the hypocrisy of the rulers and the culture of hatred.
On 9 December 2016, Marcel Salem will release LES CHAROGNARDS, his most roots reggae album, even if he has cut his dreads! The scavengers denounced the dynastic systems of the "Father-Son-Power", pointed the finger at the injustice towards the poor populations of Africa. Salem feeds on the sounds of the native land to honor the elders, call for the preservation of Serer heritage, warn against the desertion of peasants and praise the riches of the land.
Alinhamento:
01 - Mayama Sama Baat
02 - Woula
03 - Cuja A
04 - Maman Ça Suffit
05 - Les Charognards
06 - Pasoob Fa
07 - Leeb
08 - Irak
09 - Yaabi Ndout
10 - Puukereh
11 - Weni Sereel
12 - Guereem