https://youtu.be/9ng2YJ7ulTU

“When a ram turns around, it is to jump higher”

Sidi Touré is a highly acclaimed practitioner of Songhaï Music with two Malian National Arts Awards for best singer. Touré led Gao’s regional orchestra, The Songhaï Stars, prior to going out on his own. In 2011, he released Sahel Folk, his debut album for Thrill Jockey, touring North America and Europe for the first time. For his fourth release, Toubalbero (a big traditional drum used to call and gather people in Gao), Touré has created a danceable, dynamic, and joyous album played with some of the most exciting new faces on the Mailian music scene. A revered leader who has his feet deep in the Northern Mali music tradition has created an album, despite the region’s significant political challenges, that brims with optimism.

For his first electro-acoustic album, Sidi Touré (vocals, guitar and calabash) is joined by bassist Baba Traoré, drummer Mamadou “Mandou” Kone (who also plays with Vieux Farka Touré), electric guitarist Djadjé Traoré, N’Goni player (traditional Malian guitar) Ousmane “Papou” Dagnon, and vocalist Babou Diallo. This is a reflection of his performance style of the last three years throughout Mali. The music is a celebration driven by the energy and groove of the rhythms. Toubalbero is exhilarating trance music overflowing with joy and carried by the beauty of Sidi’s voice.

Previous Sidi Touré albums were recorded in a modest tin-roofed studio in Bamako. The recording sessions have to be timed around Mali’s rainy season due to the noise from the rain pelting the roof. Toubalbero was recorded over the course of four days at Studio Bogolan, one of the best in Mali where artists that include Ali Farka Touré, Rokia Traoré, Toumani Diabate and Björk have recorded. The album was recorded by Yaya Cissé and produced by Nicolas “Covalesky” Richard. The songs were recorded live to.......
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