Faada Freddy

Chaplin’s bowler hat on top of thick dreadlocks, striped opera hats and white shirts like a Prohibition-era Untouchable: undoubtedly, Faada Freddy has his own style, a mix of old-style chic and the attire of a ghetto’s rude boy. Looking cool and zazou gives him a street dandy cachet, and it also sets the tone of Gospel Journey, his first album, elegant and stylish, ageless yet furiously modern. As’, who produced Imany’s first album (platinum album in France and in several European markets), produced this quite singular and purely vocal album. The songs effortlessly cover several territories, some of which aren’t exactly neighbors: soul, worship songs, a capella R’n’B, fresh folk, unplugged rock, all united under a single banner, the deep and omniscient voice of Faada. A voice that is assuredly one of the purest, warmest and most melodic among the up and coming talents of 2015.

Faada (the stage name of Abdou Fatcha Seck), comes from a 6-children family, his father was teacher and school inspector in Senegal. Strict and demanding when it comes to discipline and school results, the music loving father unknowingly gave a musical education to one of his boys. Faada would then spend his free time crafting makeshift guitars with oil cans, and making Toukouss ngalam, a small west-African lute, with tin cans. When he was a pupil at Lycée Maurice de la Fosse, Faada, along with his friends NDongo D and Alajiman also recorded their first cassette, the first step toward sending their band, Daara J, at the top of the African rap scene and gaining international recognition, with prestigious opening acts and collaborations (Damon Albarn, Peter Gabriel, Wyclef Jean, Rita Mitsouko, Mos Def…), as well as a BBC award for the Boomerang album in 2003.