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.
Hailing from Dakar, Senegal, Almamy started out as a dancer and 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, in 2007 to issue a series 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., released in early 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.
A double A-side single, Don't Ask Me / French Kiss, was issued as an iTunes Exclusive a few months later.
Almamy is currently working on The Love, a concept project that comprises a 5-track EP, a short film, and a photonovel-style comic book.
The lead single, a cover of Daft Punk's "Digital Love," will precede the EP in the Spring of 2012, while the film and the book are set for a Fall release.
The Sexy Boy EP /... B.M.D. WORKS 001
The Sexy Boy EP /... L.Y.D. WORKS 002
Like You Do Remixes WORKS 003
Don't Ask Me / French Kiss - Single WORKS 004
Like You Do C-Drick feat. Almamy (Black Mamba Records, 2008)
I Keep Remembering What I'm Trying to Forget
Aman Ellis feat. Almamy (ModyWorks, 2010)
Almamy Interview - All Magazine
Interview with Almamy - FIERTH Magazine
