The album is described as a “full-on musical,” telling the story of a shipwrecked crew of sixteen men, only three of whom survive a catastrophic storm.
Of the 800-plus songs he has recorded, only a handful directly concern his own life experience; The Sunset Tree's 13 tracks, written after Darnielle's stepfather passed away in December 2003, are the bulk of this small subsection.
Heir to the tradition of the Griots -storytellers, poets and musicians who served for centuries as guardians of West African cultural heritage- Ousmane was an innovator of the modern electric Mandingue sound.