Asking you to pay attention, this unusual singer displays a sure sense of hook when he fuses his squeaky tenor, infectious pop melodies and cheeky lyrics with stripped down yet snappy electronic beats. And, of course, the sass of it all is worth the attention.
Born in 1982 in Dakar, Senegal, Almamy started out as a dancer and an actor in his early teens, performing locally until he won a scholarship to study and dance in Paris in the late nineties.
After relocating to New York in 2002, to study at the famed Broadway Dance Center, Almamy found himself immersed in the club scene and writing songs. "Ballet couldn't contain me anymore," he recalls. "I was becoming a songwriter, I was singing and going out a lot to dance clubs, to listen to some cool electronic music".
Collaborations with producers Peter McLean (D1 Music) and Mike Degen (RuPaul, Heavy D) followed but it was not until Almamy teamed up with guitarist and programmer Nick Holmes that he could produce, by layering his androgynous squeal of a voice and insistent melodies over skeletal instrumentations, a sound of his own.
Embodying the DIY aesthetic that is prevalent in the dance music scene Almamy then set up his own label, ModyWorks, to issue a serie of recordings.
The first of which was a twin EPs project, "The Sexy Boy EP /... B.M.D." and "The Sexy Boy EP /... L.Y.D.", that was released on iTunes in January 2008. It was followed by a maxi-single featuring remixes of his best-selling song "Like You Do" by established (Seelenluft, Fonteyn) and up-and-coming (BeTrash, SilverSpirit) producers/remixers.
Almamy is currently working on a self-titled debut. Release is expected later this year. The double A-side single "Don't Ask Me / French Kiss" preceded the LP in August. |
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