THE PRESS RELEASE: “A warm, funky voice, but just as sober and intimate. Bai Kamara Jr’s music is a mix of soul, blues, funk, R&B and jazz influences. Bai Kamara Jr, son of the former Sierra Leonean ambassador in Brussels, who grew up in the United Kingdom and has lived in Brussels for over 25 years, is a committed singer-songwriter who reveals his African origins in his music. “My musical and artistic journey has now led me to this pivotal stage of my career where the Salone project (which means Sierra Leone in the Krio language) finally allows me to delve into my African roots and more specifically that of of Sierra Leone, my country of origin. Never before had I had the strength to undertake this work. Salone is also the title of my new blues and roots album, and The Voodoo Sniffers is the name of my new band. Although I was born in Sierra Leone, I have never played or made music in Africa. My first steps into the world of music were made while at school in England. As a professional musician, it was Belgium that gave birth to me. Though I was predestined to live my childhood, adolescence and adult life between the continents of Africa and Europe, the rhythms and sounds of African have always lived in me. Artistically, the making of this album (where I played all the instruments and sang all the voices) was a spiritual, joyful, refreshing and rewarding introspection. I put all my soul and heart into it. As the blues has always been at the heart of my artistic journey and it was the obvious and perfect vehicle to express my feelings and musical inspirations for this expedition into the roots of my African heritage.”
MY TWO CENTS: We’re all a mix of nature and nurture. But few of us balance both ends of the scale as engagingly and gracefully as Kamara does on this cross-cutural collection. Whether you like southern American blues music or its more hypnotically groovy African forebear, you’ll be in your happy place with these tunes.
