Meiway is a firm believer in the power of symbols, so it's no coincidence that his new album should come out on the 10th of the month. The singer is confident that this perfect timing will allow him to get the Millennium off to a good start. "This is my end-of-the-century album," says Meiway, "but it's also important because it marks the tenth year of my career."

"Extraterrestre" is an unashamedly audacious album, which finds Meiway broadening his musical horizons and mixing a whole range of different influences. Recorded with his group Zo Gang International, the album also features a host of prestigious guest stars such as Manu Dibango (on sax), José Luis Cortès (on flute) and Jacob Desvarieux (on acoustic guitar). "I believe in pulling out all the stops to celebrate a special occasion," says Meiway, "Basically, the idea was to get together all the people who've been important in my career, people like Manu Dibango who've been major role models for me".

The string section on "Extraterrestre" is also worthy of mention, the talented Cuban musicians who play on Meiway's new album being none other than the group who played on Cesaria Evora's latest album (also released on the Lusafrica label). As for the exuberant brass-playing, this comes courtesy of the legendary N.G La Banda from Havana. The line-up is Meiway's way of paying a personal tribute to the Latin sounds which have influenced West African bands all these years.

Meiway also mixes in more contemporary influences on his new album, inviting Angelo, a popular rap star from Abidjan, to join him in a protest duet, denouncing the corrupt élite who hoard all the "gbouniac" (Treichville slang for "money"). The singer is adamant that his use of rap is not at all motivated by commercial concerns. "I'm not just following music fashion," Meiway insists, "I've always considered that rappers are a pioneering force when it comes to protest songs - they're a bit like Rastas in that way. Right now it just so happens that the balance is swinging more in favour of rap. That's why I thought it was a good idea to team up with Angelo and denounce the problems of political systems in Africa".

2000: The Year of the Alien?

Meiway's new album adopts a much more confrontational stance than his previous work and at times the singer appears to despair of humanity altogether, placing his faith in salvation coming from extraterrestrial regions. "Let's face it, we've been hoping for decades now," says Meiway, "Things down here on earth are just getting worse and worse. In fact, I'd say the world has never been so close to falling apart. In spite of our advanced intelligence, human beings still haven't mastered anything really. We preach hate instead of love and spend our time praying to God in church or Allah in the mosques. But that hasn't changed the situation at all. Perhaps the problem is that God's too busy and hasn't got the time to help us. So he's sending extraterrestrials to help us instead - perhaps aliens will be the new apostles of a flying-saucer prophet! Maybe aliens will come down and help police the earth … help us wipe out corruption and make people upright and honest again." Committed to bringing about a better world, Meiway enjoys spicing up his philosophy with a bit of humour now and then. But his lyrics are constantly tough and uncompromising even when this means he runs the risk of sounding like a demagogue - something he'd sincerely like to avoid!

"My greatest wish," says Meiway, "is that on January 1st 2000 there'll be a bit more love and a lot more justice on this planet. I'd like there to be a greater social balance in the world so that each human being has the minimum he needs to survive. And these are the issues I tried to address in the songs on the new album. This is the reason I tried to take my musical experiments a bit further this time, so that people all over the world can appreciate and enjoy my music. I'm not a pessimistic person by nature and I believe change will come. My album is more of a message than an affirmation - I'm convinced the next century will be a century of challenge and change!"

600% Zoblazo

Judging by the infectious zoblazo* rhythms on Meiway's new album, "Extraterrestre" also looks set to prove a big hit on club dance floors. When the Ivory Coast star first launched zoblazo ten years ago, he could never have dreamt that the reworking of traditional tunes used to accompany the 'white handkerchief' dance would catch on on the international music scene. (In fact, today zoblazo has become one of West Africa's most popular musical exports).

And maybe this is one of the principal reasons Meiway decided to return to his roots on "Extraterrestre". "The new album is six levels above my first one," says the singer, "That's why I say it's 600% zoblazo. That's the reason I use percentages to describe the progression. But if you listen to the new album closely you'll realise that I also wanted to go back to the roots of zoblazo. On my last two albums I'd started to move away from traditional zoblazo, trying to make it sound a bit more 'world'. But in the end I wasn't very satisfied with the result. That's why on the new album I also go back a bit, regressing to 200% zoblazo on the song "On a gagné". Whether we're talking 600% or 200% zoblazo here, one thing's for sure - it's time to get out your white handkerchiefs and hit that dance floor!

*- a mix of different folk music from the south of the Ivory Coast

Meiway - "Extraterrestre" (Lusafrica/BMG).