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Concert Preview
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The City Paper (Philly), Concert Preview >>
Her voice is exceptionally sweet and caressing, his guitar a mix of Iberian and jazz. The combined sound of Julia Sarr and Patrice Larose is so inviting it takes a while to realize you don't understand a word. "I chose to do all the songs in Wolof because we have to lift up our culture," says Sarr of the soon-to-drop CD Set Luna (Sunnyside). "Our culture needs to be represented outside of Senegal." Though she has made her home in France since 1979, Julia Sarr states unequivocally, "You never lose your mother tongue. It is so deep in you." She does admit, in perfect English, that while she wrote all the lyrics she did check with folks back home to make sure her usage was still up to date.
Moving to France exposed Sarr to the world, with gospel and R&B especially attracting her ears, but Africa still plays a part. With a laugh she says she has "stolen" the music of the griots ("older women, the mothers, the aunties")—stolen because she was not born into that caste. Sarr hasn't inherited the right to tell Senegal's oral history, but she feels compelled to take that role into the 21st century.
Sarr has an impressive resume, from backing Youssou N'Dour to recording the soundtrack of the film Lumumba, but Set Luna is her first time in the spotlight. The same goes for Larose, her French creative collaborator who has freely adapted his distant flamenco heritage to his modern guitar compositions. The two were brought together for the concept recording and discovered that the producers' dream had a life of its own.
-Mary Armstrong 01/24/06 >> go there
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