Melstar travelled to the Africa Oye festival in Liverpool, to meet Carlou D. On the eve of his album launch in London, Carlou D rocked the crowd, yet away from the stage he was quiet and unassuming. Read how their encounter, one Sunday in Sefton Park, unfolded.
Text : Melstar Images : Jill Turner
A tall statuesque black man stood behind his translator and general tour manager, Dudu Sarr. Quiet, calm, and studious, Carlou D accepted my hand and greeted me then laid his arm, open palm across his chest, saying peace. He was dressed in a simple denim tunic with a snake skin running down the back, its head beginning at the hood of the gown, draped around his neck were strings of black beads, a scarf and a grey bobble hat topped his attire. Little would I know that for one so quiet, he would rock the stage and transform so many faces to beaming smiles and moving bodies with his energy, song and words. He gave his all.
After the performance, visibly exhausted he sat leaning over the table resting his head on his hands. Cries of the crowd, still wanting more, were ringing out. Alas for the fans he had already performed two encores and the stage needed to be 'turned around' in readiness for the Rasites. With the food order underway, Carlou D made time to sit with me and share his raison d’etre. It was a truly special moment.
"everyone must act positively for peace to exist in this world"
What first struck me about Carlou D’s performance was his communication with the audience. He had everyone on side, as he explained who he was and why he was here. I asked him about the importance of his relationship with the audience. Carlou responded “Whether it is as a singer, as a Baye Fall, as a disciple, it is important to convey the message, of how everyone should be in this world now. Everyone should be positive, everyone must act positively for peace to exist in this world. That is what I purport on stage. I want everyone to know that I am your brother.” A bold statement, but genuine, humble, and communicated with sincerity in his eyes.
Prompted by his on stage explanation about his roots, his faith and his spiritual guide, I delved deeper. I wanted to know the why and the who he was. “We are Baye Fall, a community in Senegal and as the Rastafarians look to Haile Selassie, our guide is Cheik Ibra Fall. He was the first black Rastafarian in Africa. Although many people know of Rastafarianism, few know of the wonderful history of our community and of ‘Bayefallism’. This is my mission on Earth, to tell of our spiritual guide, of Cheik Ibra Fall”.
"This world is really in need of the Baye Fall philosophy right now"
As the conversation progressed, I learned more about being Baye Fall. “If we are born Baye Fall, we are Baye Fall. We are. We have a mission that nothing other than peace exists in this world”. It made me smile on the inside when Carlou expanded, “This world is really in need of the Baye Fall philosophy right now.” He also told me that unlike the Griot tradition and culture of passing the Message through story, onstage Carlou follows ‘tam tam des Baye Fall’ the Message that is passed from village to village by rhythm alone, and everyone understands it.
Onstage, we see just how the message is translated, inspiring a member of the audience to jump over the barriers and climb on stage to take the drums sticks and accompany his band on the sabar drums stage front. Every inch the performer and peacemaker Carlou takes care to make sure the security aren’t overly heavy handed as his surprise accompanist is escorted from the stage.
Carlou D’s body becomes his tool when performing, coming on stage with his woolly bobble hat, he pulls it off during the third number, lets his dreadlocks fall free, the performance is beginning. Facially, his expressions are transfixing. A smile of joy that contains all his sorrow and experience of life too. He intersperses song with dance and percussion. He puts down his guitar and his body bends, flows, and pops with the rhythm and melody. At points he reaches to the sky and pulls, pulls, as if drawing in a spiritual power. An image that stuck in my mind.
With such powerful images in my mind following his performance, I had to ask the somewhat inevitable question, ‘why the transition from his Hip Hop starting blocks with ‘Positive Black Soul’ to leading his own band with a strong foundation in roots music.?’ His candidness and openness caught me off guard. Carlou bowed his head and raised his eyes to meet mine “I have had a complicated life. I had a hard life growing up with my family and I was really without hope. What gave me the will to live was the faith. The belief in God, without that I would have been nothing on earth. I had a difficult life, as an African son I had to take care of the family (Carlou D’s father left the family, taking his second wife with him. Carlou’s mother, once so in love was heartbroken and eventually died) and that pushed me closer to God. It is said that poverty and hardship push us closer to God. But I had the wonderful opportunity to meet my Baye Fall l guides who shared with me the beautiful history of Bayefallism and after ‘Positive Black Soul’ they steered me on the right path.”
One of Carlou’s greatest abilities is the ability to translate emotion into music, so talented, the range from searing pain utilising his upper register, in stark contrast to deep lament and deep bass resonance when inciting people to make change yet be who they are. Nowhere, is this ability more evident than in his track dedicated to his mother ‘Namenala‘(I miss you.) The inconsolable cry for his mothers pain and departure is so, so emotive. Looking around, members of the audience were brought to tears. Dudu Sarr comments, ‘Yes, this has happened a few times’ whilst interviewing Carlou D on three separate occasions, at three different times the interviewers in question had broken down in tears merely in recollection of witnessing ‘Namenala’ being performed live. Yet equally whilst being able to move the crowd emotionally, Carlou D makes the crowd rock, for Carlou is a very positive, uplifting artist.
It’s not for nothing that a listener can break down in tears over a performance
In just the short time I spent with Carlou D, at this year’s Africa Oye festival, my experience was one of enlightenment and reassurance. His performance was hypnotising, he has a gift from above and I leave you with Carlou D’s words: “For an artist to be an artist, you must have faith. It’s not for nothing that a listener can break down in tears over a performance, or for a person to be paralysed in speech and body for nothing. It is because an artist has unlocked something very, very deep. You have to be a spiritual person to hypnotise the audience like a serpent and to be a vehicle for the message to pass through.” A music that is faith and comes from above and also from Carlou D’s core being.
Carlou D is Muzikr!
Buy a copy of Muzikr - Carlou D
Text: Melanie Horstead
Images: Jill Turner
