His deep and powerful voice, expressive language and puns have already been impressed in our heads all summer thanks to the broadcasts on Radio Nova, Inter in France and Radio Cosmo in Germany of the single Yacomome, which means ‘this is for you!’ in Wolof. This is Lass’s debut EP: a small map of the world, a collection of stories and a simple philosophy illustrated through her stunning voice. Raised among the soundsystems of Dakar, Lass listened from an early age to the Afro-Cuban sounds of the Baobab and Bembaya Jazz Orchestra at the Congolese rumba evenings organized by his brother, before discovering reggae and artists such as the more recent Garnett Silk. Overwhelming, she sings folk, dancehall, mbalax or electro and has now surpassed the 4 million online streams with her hit with Synapson, Souba, and for her collaboration with Tim Dup, Toujours, we are just a few steps away.
“My voice is my instrument, I carry it with me everywhere! I’ve come to a point where identifying with a precise style doesn’t matter. I like challenges, like when I approach my vocal, clearly African, to the house rhythms, definitely European“.
Having arrived in France 13 years ago, Lass could have abandoned her musical dreams and happily settled into a good career and stable family life. Instead, he chased his dream: “It’s hard to stay positive when you have to fight and work twice as hard.
In Senegal, we are used to thinking that the career ends when you arrive in France. You have to rent a house, find a job, pay all the expenses… there is no time for music and often you fail after the first attempt”. The former fire safety officer now ignites the stages and remembers, thus, the lessons that helped him to persevere. The song Mo yaro is about a father’s pride, while Tabè is about a love that haunts his nights. The much more solemn De du tago (‘death does not ask permission’) describes the many times the grim reaper took his loved ones away. “I lost my father first and then my mother in 2000. But above all, I saw many friends leave on canoes, and never arrive“.
The most extraordinary work is his voice, powerful but delicate at the same time. “Afrojazz and Jamaican culture have influenced me a lot. I used to listen to the tapes and study their breath and every little detail. I soon realized, though, that I had to start my project. I put all these cultures together so that I didn’t look like anyone else”. This led him, finally, to his hit hit of double facet: Mo Yaro, very afro-house in the version of Synapson and produced by Raphael D’Hervez (Pongo). Much more acoustic and intimate in the second interpretation presented as the epilogue of the EP.
Last December, Lass (Lassana) returned to Senegal for the first time in three years. “To bring the EP to my family! They are amazed to see me going on tour and playing at big festivals like Montreux Jazz this summer. Looking back, I realize that problems are only obstacles that must be overcome“.