Biography
The eight musicians comprising Super Cayor are Mapate ‘James’ Gadiaga (b. 15 January 1950, Thies, Senegal; lead vocals), Birane ‘Mbol’ Cisse (b. 1 January 1957, Tasset Ouoloff, Senegal; rhythm guitar), Alioune Ndaw (b. 11 April 1974, Dakar, Senegal; keyboards), Ousmane Diaw (b. 23 April 1969, Saint Louis, Senegal; bass), Fata ‘Pascal’ Dieng (b. 1950, Ngnibi, Senegal; vocals), Abdoulaye Lo (b. 12 September 1977, Pikine, Senegal; drums), Faly Faye (b. 12 April 1977, Thies, Senegal; percussion) and Silvain Degue (b. 20 February 1965, Thies, Senegal; lead guitar). Gadiaga, whose résumé already included stints with Xalam and Star Band, joined Cisse—who had operated both a band and an electronics workshop under the name Dakar Performance Electronique—on 17 March 1992 to launch the group, drawing additional recruits from Thies. The ensemble performs salsa-mbalax, fusing Cuban influences that shaped contemporary Senegalese sounds with indigenous Senegalese rhythms. Together with Africando and Pape Fall, Super Cayor has revived salsa’s popularity among local listeners while establishing itself as a major concert draw within Senegal. Their first international release, Sopente, highlights the ensemble’s blend of Latin grooves and robust Senegalese percussion; four cuts from that album were later included on the 1998 Earthworks compilation African Salsa.