Biography
Wally Badarou entered the world in Paris, the city where his physician parents completed their medical training and where his father would later represent their West African homeland of Cotonon Benin (formerly Dahomey) in an ambassadorial role. Though aviation had been his intended path, synthesizers and rock & roll proved irresistible, steering him toward prominence as a session keyboardist both in England and at his personal studio in Nassau, Bahamas. Early assignments paired him with M on the hit "Pop Music," alongside Joe Cocker, Herbie Hancock, and a roster of Island Records acts that included Grace Jones, Black Uhuru, and the British funk band Level 42. Beyond his production duties and keyboard contributions to Level 42, he composed multiple film scores, most notably for Kiss of the Spider Woman. Traces of his African heritage surface in the music’s rhythmic sensitivity, while his classical training informs its harmonic sensibility. The expressive, sophisticated synthesizer textures remain vibrant throughout his catalog, particularly on the dance-oriented Echoes album. During the nineties he issued two further albums: 1991’s Chief Inspector and 1997’s So Why.