Songwriter, producer, president of the African Music Academy
Longtime associate of british band Level 42, Wally Badarou has co-written, performed on and co-produced with the band from the beginning. Also member of the Compass Point All Stars, the in-house recording team working with Grace Jones, Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, etc, he has also recorded with Robert Palmer, Marianne Faithfull, Talking Heads, Foreigner, Power Station, Manu Dibango and Miriam Makeba, among many others.
He has produced albums by Fela Kuti, Salif Keita, Wasis Diop, Trilok Gurtu, Carlinhos Brown; wrote for films Countryman, Kiss of the Spider Woman; directed and wrote for Jean-Paul Goude’s French Bicentennial parade in 1989; and helped organise the Kora All Africa Music Awards in 1997.
His solo instrumental work includes “Words Of A Mountain” and “Echoes”, the latter featuring “Chief Inspector”, “Mambo” (sampled for Massive Attack’s “Daydreaming”, Blue Lines debut album), and “Hi-Life”.
As a member of SACEM’s board since 2012, and from within many organisations in France and abroad, he has been a strong advocate of authors rights around the world. He is also the president and a founding member of the African Music Academy.
