34. Chad — ‘Noon Pah’ by Matibeye Geneviève

I didn’t know a thing about Chad. I had heard of the name, but I couldn’t have told you a single thing, other than that it is situated somewhere in central Africa. That’s it. Quite bad of me, considering the country is larger than France.

It is also one of the poorest countries in the world. And one of the most corrupt. It also has some great musicians, such as Matibeye. This album is just gorgeous. Some bits are better than others, but the amazing acapella opening track alone is worth listening to it. Is Ireeh a cover of Dragostea Din Tei? Probably not, yet it sounds so similar, and still is great. The song that gives the album its name is also great, using traditional instrumentation with looping techniques, some jazz piano, and some flamenco-like improvisations. Same for the closing track Loto Loum — probably my favourite — which sounds like a remix already, and it is definitely the most danceable song in the album.

The whole thing is just so well produced, so neat, so tidy, so clear. It’s just so well done — then why does she only have, at the time of writing this, 27 monthly listeners on Spotify? Why do NONE of her tracks have reached the 1000 streams (and I would have been solely responsible for a fair amount of those myself)? How is this possible? Go and listen to the album right now, please.