Angelique Kidjo remains one of the most electrifying performers in the music scene today. Her music is steeped in the tribal and pop rhythms of her West African heritage, and the Benin-born Paris/Brooklyn based artist has crossed musical boundaries by blending jazz, funk, salsa, rumba soul, and makossa.
For her latest release, she has gone even one step further: a transformative remake of Talking Heads’ entire breakthrough album, Remain in Light (1980), which “raises the ante on every parameter of the original” (The New York Times). While the David Byrne songs stay recognizable, they are layered with new grooves, new guitar lines, and new messages. Kidjo has enhanced the originals with more direct connections to the guitars and horns of African pop, imbued with the soul and annunciatory power of her remarkable voice.