Senegalese vocalist Omar Pene was at the height of his powers when, with his group Super Diamono, he arrived at Real World in 1996 and gifted a live session that blew everybody’s hair back. By then Pene had been with Diamono for over two decades, assuming a captaincy in the ‘80s that saw the band jousting for popularity at home with the mighty Youssou N’Dour. Both acts were rooted in mbalax, Senegal’s explosive, syncopated dance music. Both were pivotal to the development of modern music in Senegal. But instead of the customary tama talking drums, Diamono used horns and guitars. They folded in reggae, and wielded jazz chords. In Ousmane Sow they found a keyboardist with a tough electric sound.
