Michel recorded Atchêgbê between Cotonou, Benin, and Paris, France. Too often, African artists cannot afford to hire a full ensemble of musicians, but on Agoh, you can hear right away that Michel is well surrounded. He’s worked as trombone player for many African musicians, lately Tiken Jah Fakoly, and has strong connections with talented African musicians all over the place. The combination of classic salsa with singing in Fon, French and some Spanish is quite tasty, hope you enjoy! The album is available in the iTunes music store.

Atchegbe is a Yoruba word which means doing something without consequences, as in “I’m going to rip off this guy, it’s atchegbe” – it’ll have no consequence. It’s used anytime someone makes a dubious profit. The song, which is not sang in Yoruba but in Fon, takes a shot at corruption, a rampant problem in Benin and a major political concern.

Michel was born in southern Bénin, where he started singing at a very early age. After playing the guitar for local bands, he got his first break when he met Mamadou Doumbia during a trip to Côte d’Ivoire. There he learned to play the trombone and started playing for many local musicians. Today he plays for Tiken Jah Fakoly, one of Africa’s biggest stars today, but also released his own salsa albums, including “Agoh” which will be released worldwide on Akwaaba.

I’m on my way back from Africa, 2 day stop in Paris to say hi to friends and family, and out of the blue comes Mory Touré from Bamako, who’s in France for the first time. He’s invited by RFI to do a radio internship here, and being the wheeler dealer he is, introduced me to Michel Pinheiro, a Beninese musician living between Paris and Cotonou. Michel recorded an incredible salsa album with was only released in Benin, with a very limited digital release in France! Very strange… Michel is also Tiken Jah Fakoly’s trombone player. He was very excited by Akwaaba, who will put out his full length album early 2009.