Wock

The Story Of Wock Goes Back To The Town Of Saint-Louis In Senegal Where The Group's Two Leaders Pape Abdou Seck And Dimitri Reverchon Met. Pape Abdou Seck A Senegalese Poet And Singer Living In Saint-Louis Was Deeply Rooted In His Ancestors' Homeland. But Dimitri Reverchon Is A Cultural And Musical Nomad. Born In Russia But Raised In The French Town Of La Ciotat Reverchon Settled In Saint-Louis In 1996 After Falling In Love With The Town's Magical Atmosphere. Throughout Their Career Wock Have Also Maintained Strong Ties With Dakar Loving The Capital's Bustling Streets Filled With Colourful Lime-Baked Facades And Horse-Drawn Carriages Which According To Reverchon Bring A "small Touch Of Louisiana" To This Corner Of Africa . Indeed The Group Say They Enjoy The Idea Of Sharing Dakar With The Legend Of Mame Coumba Bang The Goddess Of The Senegal River Who Casts Her Protective Spell Over Sailors And Riverside Dwellers In Exchange For A Few Ritual Offerings. Wock's Infectious Fusion May Seem Improbable At First But Listen To It Closely And It Starts To Sound Familiar. Words From The Koran And Other Holy Books Drift Over The Sound Of Traditional African Percussion And Electric Guitars Inspired By British Pop Legends Such As Sting U2 And Peter Gabriel . Somehow Wock Stir These Eclectic Musical Ingredients Into A Natural Mix Aided And Abetted By Pape's Vocals Performed In Wolof Which The Singer Declares Is "first And Foremost A Rhythm Before Being A Language." In Fact Wolof Borrows Certain Sounds From English And Russian Not To Mention The Spanish Pronunciation Of "jota" And Does Appear To Have Its Own Inherent Swing. In A Way Wolof Is A Sort Of Linguistic Thread Linking Marseilles To Saint-Louis Where The Tracks For Wock's Debut Album Were Written And Recorded . read less