Singer Hopes to Reveal Africa’s Cultural Wealth

Ladysmith Black Mambazo isn’t the only African artist making big strides toward escaping cult status.

Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, who appears in a free concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Sunday, received widespread exposure to Western audiences through his collaborations with Peter Gabriel. N’Dour also got a big visibility boost when he participated in the 1988 Amnesty International tour, where he performed with Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman and Sting.

Many international artists would be happy with that kind of high profile, but N’Dour isn’t satisfied with his career progress yet.

“I haven’t now achieved what I really want to achieve,” he said by phone from his home in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. N’Dour, 30, was enjoying a short break with his two children after finishing work on his third album, “Set.”

“My career has to be made little by little, by experience, and now I’m feeling stronger and more sure of myself,” he continued, speaking in French with his sister Nigone interpreting. “I know someday I will get what I want.”

“I want people to know that Africa has its own culture because American people used to think that everything that comes from Africa is from the bush. But African people have some new ideas, and I want my music to show people the wealth of Africa.”

“Set,” produced by Michael Brooks with one track contributed by Daniel Lanois, is scheduled to be released here in September. But N’Dour and his 11-piece band are getting a head start on touring by appearing here, in New York and Philadelphia as part of the Parliament Sound Series concert series.

Born into a musical family, N’Dour began his performing career at 12. He made his first recordings with the leading Senegalese pop group, the Star Band de Dakar, in 1978 but soon lured several Star Band musicians away to form Super Etoile de Dakar. His first album with the new unit was released in 1980.

N’Dour was the leading force in a wave of younger bands--including Toure Kunda and Super Diamono--that ushered in a new era in Senegalese pop music during the late ‘70s. The mbalax style (pronounced MAH-la and meaning “rhythmic accompaniment”) melded modal Islamic singing and lyrics sung in the Wolof language with indigenous rhythms and the Latin music that was an integral influence on early Senegalese (and most West African) pop.

“Long ago, people used to take the traditional songs played by a Senegalese instrument and play the same music with some kind of modern instrument like a guitar,” N’Dour explained. “When I started singing, I was really interested in new sounds, but when I started to put songs with my own traditional Senegalese music, I realized that wouldn’t do anything (creative).”

N’Dour moved to Paris in the mid-’80s and recorded a series of albums that cemented his Senegalese popularity and introduced him to European pop audiences. The best of those albums was “Immigres,” a 1984 release that became his first record for a major Western pop label when Virgin reissued it here in 1988.

By then, N’Dour had worked with Herbie Hancock and sung a duet with Gabriel on the latter’s 1986 breakthrough album, “So.” He opened for Gabriel on the English rocker’s American tour that year, and Gabriel continued their collaboration last year when he co-wrote and sang a song with N’Dour on the Senegalese artist’s “The Lion” album.

That album found N’Dour relying too much on slick Euro-pop touches, but he said the new album would take a different slant. He is optimistic over his future prospects as American audiences become more aware of the range of styles in African music.

“A long time ago, what we were playing in Dakar was different from what we were playing in the U.S.A.,” said N’Dour, who has moved back to the Senegalese city. “But nowadays we are playing the same thing because I realized that what people like here in Dakar, people in New York love it.

“Everything you see in New York you can see here in Dakar, and my music is just like that. I’m an open-minded person--I can get the inspiration to write a song from anywhere--but I will never throw away my culture.”

Youssou N’Dour and Samite play Sunday July 22 at 6 p.m. at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Admission: free. Information: (714) 855-8096.