At the centre of mbalax is the sabar drum - a tall wooden drum that is played with one stick and one hand. Drummers can make the sabar 'talk' - changing the pitch and rhythm to copy the sound of human speech. In old Senegalese tradition, drummers used to send messages between villages this way.
A mbalax band usually has several drummers, several singers, guitars, keyboards, and sometimes a horn section. The drums lead. The other instruments answer them. Songs often start slow and then speed up faster and faster until everyone in the room is dancing.
Youssou N'Dour, born in Dakar in 1959, took mbalax around the world. He has sung with Peter Gabriel and Neneh Cherry, and his song '7 Seconds' was a huge hit. He still lives in Dakar and runs his own recording studio there.
Mbalax is everywhere in Senegal - at weddings, at family parties, at school dances, on every taxi radio. It is danced in a particular way too, with quick, sharp foot movements that follow the drum patterns. Children pick it up before they can read.