Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck were childhood friends, both born in and around Podor on the Senegal river.

Griots are historians, storytellers, praise singers, poets and musicians. Seck, who is blind, was the Maal family’s Griot. He and Baaba struck up a close rapport, which convinced the latter that his destiny was to play music. Seck was a key influence in his development, schooling him in the traditional Senegalese guitar styles.

In 1977, the two embarked on a journey to explore the musical traditions of Mauritania and Mali. Maal then went to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1982. Once established in Paris, he invited Seck to join him and they formed a band called Dande Lenol (The People’s Voice).

If the seeds of Djaam Leeli (1984) were sown over the course of their time in France, the album bears the definite scent of their homeland. The songs are sung primarily in Pulaar, a language that straddles the Senegal river in the ancient kingdom of Futa Tooro. The warmth of the sound is so tangible it appears to emit heat. The temperature invites the plaintive vocals to rise up and hang suspended in mid-air, where they shimmer and glow in kaleidoscopic colours. All around them weave hauntingly beautiful guitar lines. The instrumental conversation between Seck and Maal is wondrous.

Then there’s the percussion, a subtle but significant part of the unique appeal of this glorious record. There are constantly changing tempos and evolving rhythmic patterns underpinning the sterling instrumental work of the principle duo.

Djaam Leeli was Maal's first recording and a stepping stone to a career that saw him cross over and become an international star. Several of the tracks have been re-recorded for later albums, but these originals outshine them.