new music: senegalese soul singer faada freddy’s ‘untitled’ ep is all about “body percussion”

This fall, Faada Freddy will be releasing his album The Gospel Journey, but like any artist who adores both their craft and their loyal fans, he has not forced us all to wait several more months for a new project by way of the four tracks Untitled EP. It is a delightfully compact body of work. Utterly ingenious. No instruments are used in this EP but it is far from empty sounding. In fact, it is completely the opposite, thanks to a captivating mix a vocals and body percussion.

By Ayara Pommells, AFROPUNK Contributor *
Banner photo by Barron Claiborne

Otherworldly “Borom Bi” possesses a robust spiritual tone. Faada swiftly switches between English and French. The result of this for me was quite remarkable, as I am not a native French speaker. It took me to a time in my childhood, sat on a wooden pew in church. Watching the elders around me become acutely impassioned and ‘filled with the Holy spirit’. They would then all begin to speak in tongues and I would feel partly lost (because I couldn’t understand a word they were saying) but part of me was in awe. I knew they were happy and strong in their faith and this was a visible and audible outpouring of their commune with God. I’m unsure as to whether this was the intended effect, but what an extraordinary impact. He wraps up the EP with “You Will Never Know” which features the nectarous vocals of Imany. The song is about words unspoken, but the lyrics are a beautiful backdrop to the music which is breathtaking and takes center stage.

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Faada Freddy’s Untitled EP brings us back to the simplicity of music. It takes us back to the very root. Choosing to avert from the expected and sometimes intrusive pounding percussions and synths leads we have become so used to, he has mastered the art of the human form. Using nothing but vocals and body percussions, Faada has created sounds akin to a harmonic orchestra. His music is vibrant and bursting with color and feeling.
Untiltled is available on iTunes.

* Ayara Pommells is Owner of UK website Rawroots.com and a music writer for Soultrain.com, SOHH.com & AFROPUNK.com. Follow @YahYahNah.