''Maison Des Jeunes'' is a 2013 album by musician Damon Albarn in collaboration with African musicians for the Africa Express project that Albarn launched in early 2013.

Background

In October 2013, Damon Albarn spearheaded a week-long trip to

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

by a group of musicians including Brian Eno, Yeah Yeah Yeahs'

Nick Zinner Nicholas Joseph Zinner (born December 8, 1974) is an American guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a record producer. Zinner is an accomplished photographer. Musical career Before forming the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs with Karen O and ...

, members of

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbeng ...

and

Django Django Django Django are a British art rock band based in London, England. Formed in 2009, the band has released four studio albums starting with their self-titled debut in 2012. Their latest album '' Glowing in the Dark'' was released on 12 February 2 ...

, Holy Other,

Lil Silva Tyrone Jermaine "TJ" Carter, better known by the stage name Lil Silva, is an English record producer, singer, songwriter and DJ, based in Bedford. He has produced and sung on his own singles and EPs (mostly released through the Good Years label) ...

, Cid Rim,

Two Inch Punch Ben Ash, professionally known as Two Inch Punch, is an English record producer, musician, remixer and songwriter. He has written and produced records with Jessie Ware, Sam Smith, Years & Years, Rag'n'Bone Man, Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Damon ...

, and more. There, they collaborated with Malian musicians. The result is an album called ''Africa Express Presents: Maison Des Jeunes,'' released digitally on 9 December via Transgressive. The record is a continuation of Albarn's

Africa Express ''Africa Express'' is a 1975 Italian adventure film starring Ursula Andress, Giuliano Gemma, and Jack Palance that was filmed in Rhodesia. A sequel ''Safari Express'' with the same leads followed a year later. Plot John Baxter is a freewheelin ...

project, where western and African artists collaborate. (The previous year it resulted in a train tour across the UK). It was recorded in a temporary studio set up in a city

youth club A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, vi ...

called Maison Des Jeunes. There was an album launch event on 9 December at London's Oval Space, featuring debut UK performances by Songhoy Blues and Kankou Kouyaté, plus Ghostpoet, Metronomy's

Olugbenga Adelekan Olugbenga Adelekan, also known as Olugbenga, is a Nigerian-born music producer. Olugbenga performs as a solo artist and as the bass player of the Mercury Music Prize Award-nominated band Metronomy. Biography Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olugbenga m ...

, and Django Django's David Maclean. It also feature the UK premiere of the documentary on the 2012 Africa Express train tour.

Track list

References

2013 albums Damon Albarn albums {{2000s-album-stub