Biography
Sally Nyolo ranks among the foremost vocalists to arise from Cameroun’s jungles. Having settled in Paris at age 13, she has never severed her connection to the tribal rhythms and ancestral practices of her homeland. In a 1998 interview she stated, "I try to be as rootsy as the (Eton) language would like me to be because it's a language we speak with images… I try to be like old singers used to do traditionally in Eton. I try to do like them, speak with image, give my best feeling to the audience." Her powerful, throaty delivery first earned notice through backing vocals for Afro-French acts including Toure Kunda and Princesse Erika. After encountering members of the Belgium-based women’s a cappella group Zap Mama at a world-music festival, she accepted an invitation to join them in 1995 and stayed for one year before returning to solo work. Her gifts as a composer appear throughout her own recordings. The 1996 debut Tribu contained twelve original Eton-language songs and earned the Decouverte RFI award from Radio France Internationale the following year. On the 1998 follow-up Multiculti she adopted a more acoustic stance, replacing electronic instruments with intricate vocal layering. Nyolo issued her third solo album, Beti, in 2000.
Albums
