With DJIN DJIN (pronounced "gin gin"), Angelique Kidjo returns to the soul of Benin - and, for the first time, shares it with a cast of all-star guests, in a marriage of cultures that has significance far beyond music alone. Inspired by the traditions and culture of Kidjo's native Benin in West Africa, the title of the album refers to the sound of the bell that greets the beginning of a new day for Africa.The diversity represented by Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Branford Marsalis, producer Tony Visconti, and the others who contribute to DJIN DJIN speaks to the lesson of this project: For all the differences in the music of our time, the river of Africa flows through it all.
The key was to build DJIN DJIN on a Beninese foundation. The heartbeat, then, comes from percussionists Crespin Kpitiki and Benoit Avihoue, both members of Benin's Gangbé Brass Band. Details of their country's rhythmic heritage, specific in some cases to individual villages, feed the rhythms they lay down throughout the album.
To this mix Kidjo welcomes players whose backgrounds complement the idea of DJIN DJIN: drummer Poogie Bell, known for his work with Erykah Badu and Chaka Khan; funk keyboard wizard Amp Fiddler, whose credits include Prince and George Clinton; Larry Campbell, whose multi-instrumental work has adorned the music of Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, and Paul Simon; Senegalese bass giant Habib Faye, a fixture with Youssou N'Dour; guitarists Lionel Loueke, from jazz legend Herbie Hancock's band; Romero Lubambo, a Brazilian wonder whose credits include Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves; Joao Mota, from Guinea-Bissau and kora master Mamadou Diabate.
Produced by Tony Visconti. (David Bowie, T. Rex, Morrissey)
Angelique Kidjo has four Grammy nominations, a mantel-full of international awards, several dance hits, and notable appearances on film and TV soundtracks to her credit (to say nothing of being a major style icon and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador). So this Benin-born, New York-based singer-composer has long since gotten past having to prove anything to anybody--other than to herself. On Djin Djin (the title refers to a bell that sounds at daybreak in parts of Africa), she is self-indulgent in the best possible sense, shooting for a big, glossy, super-pop sound that nonetheless remains essentially, even devoutly, African in inspiration and execution. Produced by Tony Visconti (The Moody Blues, T. Rex, David Bowie, Boomtown Rats, and Morrissey), the release is a bewitching amalgam, with guest stints from Joss Stone, Carlos Santana, Branford Marsalis, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Malian husband-and-wife team Amadou and Mariam, and noted reggae scion Ziggy Marley. Kidjo, her salty-sweet voice in top form, moves confidently from ballad to club track to homespun earthmover. She never for a second relinquishes control of the festivities, even during a hectic, Haitian-rara-influenced cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and "Lon Lon," in which she takes on--and takes over--French composer Ravel's "Bolero." --Christina Roden
