Track Listing

1. Ae Ae
2. Djin Djin featuring Alicia Keys and Branford Marsalis
3. Gimme Shelter featuring Joss Stone
4. Salala featuring Peter Gabriel
5. Senamou (C'est L'amour) featuring Amadou and Mariam
6. Pearls featuring Josh Groban and Carlos Santana
7. Sedjedo featuring Ziggy Marley
8. Papa
9. Arouna
10. Awan N'La
11. Emma
12. Mama Golo Papa
13. Lonlon (Ravel's Bolero)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21394 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
With DJIN DJIN (pronounced "gin gin"), Angelique Kidjo returns to the soul of Benin - and, for the first time, shares it with a cast of all-star guests, in a marriage of cultures that has significance far beyond music alone. Inspired by the traditions and culture of Kidjo's native Benin in West Africa, the title of the album refers to the sound of the bell that greets the beginning of a new day for Africa.

The diversity represented by Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Branford Marsalis, producer Tony Visconti, and the others who contribute to DJIN DJIN speaks to the lesson of this project: For all the differences in the music of our time, the river of Africa flows through it all.

The key was to build DJIN DJIN on a Beninese foundation. The heartbeat, then, comes from percussionists Crespin Kpitiki and Benoit Avihoue, both members of Benin's Gangbé Brass Band. Details of their country's rhythmic heritage, specific in some cases to individual villages, feed the rhythms they lay down throughout the album.

To this mix Kidjo welcomes players whose backgrounds complement the idea of DJIN DJIN: drummer Poogie Bell, known for his work with Erykah Badu and Chaka Khan; funk keyboard wizard Amp Fiddler, whose credits include Prince and George Clinton; Larry Campbell, whose multi-instrumental work has adorned the music of Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, and Paul Simon; Senegalese bass giant Habib Faye, a fixture with Youssou N'Dour; guitarists Lionel Loueke, from jazz legend Herbie Hancock's band; Romero Lubambo, a Brazilian wonder whose credits include Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves; Joao Mota, from Guinea-Bissau and kora master Mamadou Diabate.

Produced by Tony Visconti. (David Bowie, T. Rex, Morrissey)

Amazon.com
Angelique Kidjo has four Grammy nominations, a mantel-full of international awards, several dance hits, and notable appearances on film and TV soundtracks to her credit (to say nothing of being a major style icon and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador). So this Benin-born, New York-based singer-composer has long since gotten past having to prove anything to anybody--other than to herself. On Djin Djin (the title refers to a bell that sounds at daybreak in parts of Africa), she is self-indulgent in the best possible sense, shooting for a big, glossy, super-pop sound that nonetheless remains essentially, even devoutly, African in inspiration and execution. Produced by Tony Visconti (The Moody Blues, T. Rex, David Bowie, Boomtown Rats, and Morrissey), the release is a bewitching amalgam, with guest stints from Joss Stone, Carlos Santana, Branford Marsalis, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Malian husband-and-wife team Amadou and Mariam, and noted reggae scion Ziggy Marley. Kidjo, her salty-sweet voice in top form, moves confidently from ballad to club track to homespun earthmover. She never for a second relinquishes control of the festivities, even during a hectic, Haitian-rara-influenced cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and "Lon Lon," in which she takes on--and takes over--French composer Ravel's "Bolero." --Christina Roden

From the Artist
...And on "Gimme Shelter," Kidjo transforms the Stones classic into an exuberant pan-national performance that nonetheless translates into a warning.

"This song means a lot to me," she says. "Look at what's going on: Fire is burning in our streets. Terrorists, in the name of God, are coming to destroy what we've worked for. If you don't give shelter to the people who most need it, if you don't treat them as your brothers and sisters, then what hope do we have?"

The contributions of stellar guest artists illuminate Kidjo's concept. By finding a place for their distinctive talents within the marriage of African and Western influences, DJIN DJIN celebrates the beauty of diversity as well as the unity of cultures that Kidjo achieves through her music.

These giants include Peter Gabriel on "Salala" ("He's done so much for African music; in fact, there's something African in his way of singing, moving, and writing his songs"); Alicia Keys on "Djin Djin" ("When she heard the Beninese drums in the studio, she said, `Wow, this is hip-hop!' She understood it perfectly - and she sang so beautifully"); Joss Stone on "Gimme Shelter" ("We're friends, so when I played her what we were doing in the studio, and she insisted on being a part of it, I was so happy that we could make this happen"); Josh Groban on "Pearls" ("He sings so effortlessly," Kidjo says, "and yet you know that it isn't easy to sing at that level of virtuosity"); Ziggy Marley on "Sedjedo" ("He understands so well the connections between the music of Jamaica and the rhythm of Africa - especially the gogbahoun rhythm that comes from my village"), Carlos Santana on "Pearls" ("He's not only a guitar player: With his guitar he sings, he dances, he swings, he cries - and he has huge respect for Africa"); Branford Marsalis on "Djin Djin" ("He's my brother! When he plays, you never know what you're going to hear or where his wonderful ideas will take the music"); and Amadou and Mariam on "Senamou" ("We go so far back as friends; it was a special blessing and a gift to have them on the album.")

Customer Reviews

Dynamic and exciting.
She is an astounding performer, a world renowned, Benin born, Grammy nominated singer.
Her diverse music has won fans across the globe, as she effortlessly blends traditional African pop music with contemporary, modern grooves. She has been appointed as Good Will Ambassador by UNICEF, and performed her music in front of world leaders and dignitaries as well as millions of fans.
Her new CD, "Djin Djin" is a welcome return for this musical queen.
"I spent seven years following the roots of slavery to music -- America, Brazil and the Caribbean, Cuba also", said Kidjo, whose previous trilogy entries were 2002's Black Ivory Soul and 2004's Oyaya!.
"I wanted to go back to where all that music came from. I wanted songs to be based on the rhythms of my country (Benin), so a lot of these songs started with the percussion and the chanting. It was intense, extensive work to do."
Ms. Kidjo is an accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right, one who could easily sell millions of records at any given time.
Any collaboration with the "hot" artist of the day, to help boost record sales is totally unnecessary. If any such artist were presented on a full length disc of hers, it would certainly help further establish and solidify Angelique's reputation.
That is exactly what happens with this CD, as Angelique shares the stage with several celebrity musicians including Romero Lubambo (acoustic guitar), Brandford Marsalis and Alicia Keys("Djin Djin"), Carlos Santana and Josh Groban ("Pearls"), Joss Stone ("Gimme Shelter") , Peter Gabriel ("Salala"), Ziggy Marley ("Sedjedo"), and African music legends Amadou and Mariam ("Senamou -(C'est L'amour)").
The result is a hybrid of musical styles and influences, all beautifully coming together. If you didn't have enough reasons to buy this CD before, you most certainly do now.
While the collaboration efforts are noteworthy and excellent, the real gems are found in the songs where Angelique is free to do her thing, unencumbered by making nice and sharing her vocal space with her guests. True, her work with Groban on the Sade reworking of "Pearls" is almost better than the original and it is one of the highlight songs of the album.
But she also shines brightly on "Ae Ae" and she makes us feel so at home on the shuffling "Papa".
To top it all of, Angelique hands in a amazing rendition of the classical piece Ravel's "Bolero" entitled "Lonlon", bridging European classical music with African folk.
The album sounds incredible thanks to super producer Tony Visconti's guiding hand on the boards. With a clean and dry mix being applied, there is very little outboard effects and studio tricks on the songs.
Every hand drum is heard with crystal-like clarity and every musician is heard clearly, making this one of the smoothest mixed albums heard in a long while.
My highlights : "Djin Djin", "Pearls" and "Awan N'La".
You will love it!

Great Sounds
Afro-beat brings great sounds. Djin Djin brings afrobeat
music to a new level. Some of the tracks are just outstanding. Singing combined with the horn playing is great. Some tracks are quite moving. Anglique Kidjo has a beautiful voice. Tracks, "Gimmie Shelter" and "Papa" have the best horns I have ever heard, fantastic harmony and feeling. This CD is a must buy!

I DO like it, but...

I find it ridiculous, the over-production of this album...I have tried very hard to like this album and now finally yes, I DO like it, but it is still not anywhere near her best work. The collaborations work is ok...But there is a lot of manipulation here. The CD is balancing constantly on the very edge of unstimulating pop and unnecessarily too often slipping over.