Premier Gaou — Magic System
Recorded in Abidjan in 1999, edited by Bob Sinclar and No. 4 in France in 2002: the story of Magic System’s “1er Gaou”, and its second life as Afro house.
- Zouglou song by Ivorian group Magic System, written by A’Salfo (Salif Traoré).
- Recorded in 1999 and first a hit in Ivory Coast and other African countries.
- Released in France with a Bob Sinclar edit: No. 4 in 2002, up to 300,000 copies sold.
“Premier Gaou” took three years to travel from Abidjan to the top of the French chart. A zouglou song about a girlfriend who left too early, it gave Magic System their breakthrough — and, two decades later, a second life on Afro house dance floors.
Zouglou from Abidjan
Magic System formed in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 1996. The core members are A’Salfo (Salif Traoré), Goudé, Tino (Étienne Boué Bi) and Manadja (Adama Fany). Their debut, Papitou, came out in 1997.
The second album, Premier Gaou, was released in Ivory Coast in 1999. Ephrem Youkpo financed it after major labels declined to distribute it, and Sonima distributed it in France from January 2000. The song was a hit at home and in other African countries first.
The first fool
The song is autobiographical. A’Salfo, who wrote it, was a poor aspiring artist when his girlfriend left him; once Magic System became famous, she tried to come back, and he turned her down. The title is Nouchi slang and means roughly “first fool”. Angelo Kabila produced the track.
Bob Sinclar and the French chart
The French single, on Next Music, carried a “le bisou edit” by Bob Sinclar: a lighter, radio-friendly version that, in the words of later remixer Francis Mercier, “slightly polished the mix”. It entered the French chart at No. 46 on 21 September 2002, climbed to No. 4 and stayed 28 weeks, ten of them in the top ten, with sales of up to 300,000 copies. It was the 25th biggest single of 2002 in France, and reached No. 10 in Belgium (Wallonia), No. 15 on the Eurochart and No. 30 in Switzerland.
Two videos exist: the first set in Abidjan, the second in an expensive nightclub. A’Salfo later said the song “opened the way” for the group. Magic System followed it with “Un gaou à Oran” (No. 3 in France in 2004) and, much later, “Magic in the Air” (2014), which became the France team’s anthem at the 2018 World Cup. In 2014 the group Bana C4 covered “Premier Gaou” with Magic System themselves, and in 2023 “Akwaba”, with Yemi Alade and Mohamed Ramadan, was the official anthem of the Africa Cup of Nations. A’Salfo is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and founded the Anoumabo Urban Music Festival.
A second life as Afro house
In 2021 Haitian-American producer Francis Mercier released a remix on Spinnin’ Deep. He said no official remix had fully reinvented the song before, and called it “the biggest, in my opinion, African record”. The remix reached No. 3 on Beatport’s Afro House Top 100, was playlisted on Black Coffee’s Track IDs on Spotify, and was later certified platinum in France.
For more Afro house, dig into Boddhi Satva; for Sinclar’s own records of the 2000s, see “Together”.
FAQ
What does Premier Gaou mean?
“Gaou” is Nouchi, Ivorian slang; the title means roughly “First Fool”.
What is 1er Gaou about?
It is autobiographical: A’Salfo’s girlfriend left him when he was a poor, aspiring artist, then tried to win him back once Magic System became famous. He turned her down.
When was Premier Gaou a hit in France?
In 2002, with an edit by Bob Sinclar. It entered the French chart in September 2002, peaked at No. 4 and stayed 28 weeks.
