live stuff: cheikh lo at the queen elizabeth hall, 20/5/06

The programme for the London African Music Festival describes Cheikh Lo's music as an "unmistakeable kaleidoscope of African traditions, reggae, jazz, funk, flamenco and Latin rhythms". I'm no expert but I can't spot any flamenco here. There is the occasional Latin tinge, but it seems to me that most of the music he plays tonight is African through and through. Many of the QEH crowd seem to agree that his version of "Afropop" ought to be danceable but there's always some slight dislocation of the beat and looking around no-one is really going for it dance-wise, the most we get is a gentle swaying from side to side. It's quite hypnotic though. They call it "mbalax", apparently...