Sally Nyolo

Sally Nyolo comes from the South of Cameroon. She was born in the Eton Land, in the small village of Eyen- Meyong, near the town of Tala, in the Lékié region. She left her homeland at the age of 13 to settle in Paris where she has lived since. Sally built up her professional experience from 1982 to 1994, first as a backing-singer working with numerous French or Africa artists, Jacques Higelin, Sixun, Nicole Croisille, Touré Kunda, and plenty of others.

Then after joining the group Zap Mama in 1993, she recorded the album "Sabsylma" and two live records (in Japan, and at Montreux). In 1996, Sally Nyolo recorded her first solo album, entitled "Tribu" (Tribe), published by the Lusafrica Label. All the tracks, sung in Eton (her native tongue), were written and composed by Sally, with the exception of "Tamtam" which she co-wrote with Sylvin Marc.

In June 97, Sally Nyolo received the Discovery 97 prize awarded by Radio France Internationale. The jury, presided over by drummer Manu Katché, afforded this recognition to the album "Tribu", for its artistic merits, and to Sally Nyolo, as one of the most promising hopes of the new generation of African musicians.

Sally returned to the studio in the spring of ‘98 to begin work on a second album entitled " Multiculti". Released in May of this year, Sally's second album not only confirms the young singer's vocal talent, it also reveals a deep passion for 'métissage' (musical and cultural fusion). The young Cameroonian has taken traditional African rhythms and successfully mixed them with other more modern genres, reinventing her musical heritage for the 1990's.

Sally returned to the music news in January 2000, releasing her third album "Beti" (named after an African tribe). Sally's new album, which was partly recorded in Cameroon, revolved around Bikutsi, a traditional rhythm from the forest regions of central Cameroon. Following the release of her album, Sally embarked upon a mini- tour in the spring of 2000, taking her catchy Bikutsi sound to France, then going on to play to audiences in Germany and Quebec. But before that Sally brought the house down in her homeland when she performed at the "Rencontres Musicales" in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.

It was back to the studio in 2002 for her fourth album, "Zaïone" (named after the son she had had the previous year), was released in October of that year. Broadening her musical horizons, Sally mixed her traditional bikutsi with other musical styles on Zaïoneand the album included duos with a number of French singers including Nicoletta, Nina Moratto, Muriel Moreno and Jean-Jacques Milteau. Teaming up with her Cameroonian friend Princess Erika, Sally also enjoyed a brief flirtation with reggae on the song"Jah Know", which was chosen as the first single release from the album.

In March 2005, she leant a hand to a David Murray production, "Pouchkine", which was performed at the Banlieues Bleues festival in the Paris region. Then in June, she opened a studio in Yaoundé and set up her own production company, Tribal Production, with the aim of developing the Cameroon music scene.

In December 2006, Sally Nyolo released her "Studio Cameroon" compilation, an album which had been a personal project of hers for almost eight years. The release of this album marked a new stage in the Cameroonian singer’s career, putting her on the map as a producer and talent-spotter. In 1998, while on a tour of her homeland, presenting songs from her second album, "Multiculti", Sally had been struck by the poor conditions her fellow musicians were working under and began wondering what she could do to help her compatriots. She promised to return and set up a recording studio in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, and produce local artists there. Eight years later, after overcoming numerous obstacles, Sally proved she was a woman of her word, opening her recording venue up on Yaounde’s Mont Fébé.

The singer refused to turn her studio into a commercial venture, using it instead as a vital means of producing traditional musicians from the region. On her "Studio Cameroon" compilation, Sally turned herself into a veritable talent-discoverer, tracking down hard-to-find musicians and unearthing up-and-coming young talents she believed in. "Studio Cameroon", an innovative and audacious project, brought together a mix of artists who bucked the trend for rhythm boxes that had become all the rage on Yaoundé’s urban music scene. Sally’s main aim on "Studio Cameroon" was to show off the incredibly rich rhythmic and instrumental heritage of her multi- cultural homeland - and she more than accomplished her mission, amassing an impressive musical mix on the album!

The "Studio Cameroon" project was filmed by François Bergeron and turned into a fascinating documentary. Source: rfimusique
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