Review | Songlines

Toubalbero

Top of the World

Rating: ★★★★

View album and artist details

Album and Artist Details

Artist/band:

Sidi Touré

Label:

Thrill Jockey

May/2018

After a trio of exquisitely textured all-acoustic albums for the Chicago-based indie label Thrill Jockey, the 59-year-old Malian singer and guitarist Sidi Touré finally plugs in and rocks out – and the effects are exhilarating. Recorded in Bamako's famous Studio Bogolan and named after a distinctively large kind of tribal drum, Toubalbero is a joyous set of dynamic African dance grooves, with Touré singing in a throaty roar over Djadjé Traoré's scuzzy-toned electric guitar and a thumping rhythm section. Recorded live without overdubs, the ten tracks explode out of the speakers with an exuberant vibe, although the songs themselves remain steeped in the timeless Songhai traditions of northern Mali; the handheld percussion and razor-sharp plucking of the ngoni reinforce the connection. ‘Hendjero Moulaye’ (The Slippery Fish) is a cautionary folk tale with a moral along the lines of ‘don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.’ ‘Tchirey’ is a possession song concerning the djinn (spirit) of thunder. ‘Sitiali Boubou’ is about honouring the ancestors while ‘Heyyeya’ is a folkloric celebration of a new marriage. All that's really changed in Touré's world is the instrumentation and an injection of rock’n’roll dynamics: on Toubalbero he sounds like Songhoy Blues jamming with the late, great Ali Farka Touré.

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