SAMBA TOURE - Forced Exposure

$15.50 IN STOCK

The legendary Malian singer/guitarist returns with his most personal and immersive album to date. Intimately recorded with a small band, Binga dives deep into Samba Touré's Songhoy roots. During the 15th and 16th centuries the Songhoy people ruled the largest empire in Africa. It stretched across the entire western Sahel, famed for the glory that was Timbuktu. But there's another place that lies a little under a hundred kilometers south of that history. Binga is the region that encompasses the vast space below the Saharan desert in Mali. This is where guitarist and singer Samba Touré grew up, and it still owns his heart -- Binga is the title of his fourth Glitterbeat album. With Binga, Touré has made sure those roots show proud and strong. With his bass player having moved to the US, it was a stripped-down combo of guitar, ngoni, calabash, and other percussion that entered the studio to record Binga. The result captures the lean tautness of the sound. The only addition on a few tracks was harmonica. That paring-back to the bare bones gave the musicians space to create what Touré calls "a communion between the instruments." As always, the groove is the foundation, the circling, mesmerizing riffs of Touré's guitar and the heartbeat rhythm of the calabash. It's relentless, mesmerizing, and the voice and the commentary of the ngoni revolve around it. This is music without embellishment, the very essence of Songhoy. Instrumental flourishes appear, but they're only brief, sharp flashes, like the conversation between guitar and ngoni at the end of "Sambalama". The focus is kept squarely on the power of the songs -- all sung in Sonhgoy, unlike previous albums. Touré has never shied away from describing the realities of life in his homeland. "Sambalama" is a joyful statement of standing tall and hoping for better days to come while on "Kola Cissé" Touré offers a praise song the memory of the late head of the Malian Football Federation. Two old Songhoy pieces bookend the disc, "Tamala" and "Terey Kongo", and both are filled with light, celebrating the history of the Songhoy people. Binga is the music of a realist. It's a cry from the soul, but even more, an affirmation of a nation's history, and Samba Touré's pride in it.

$15.50 IN STOCK

When Malian singer and guitarist Samba Touré was planning Wande ("The Beloved"), his third Glitterbeat release, he had strong ideas for the way it should sound. But once the sessions were over, he knew he had something entirely different, something even more satisfying: a collection of songs where warmth filled the grooves of every song. "We had a totally different album in mind," Touré admits, "a return to something more traditional, almost acoustic. I think this album is less dark than the previous ones. It has some sad and serious songs, but it sounds more peaceful. All the first takes have been kept." That spark of spontaneity fires across the whole disc. It was recorded quickly, in "about two weeks, only in the afternoons and with breaks on weekend to play in weddings, so it was very relaxed!" Wande is just as direct and powerful as Touré's previous work, but everything moves with a bright, danceable sensibility. Gone are the intense guitar and ngoni duels, replaced with short, incisive guitar solos and a solid, laid-back groove. Only two songs had been written before going into the studio: the title cut, which is a love song to his wife, and "Tribute To Zoumana Tereta", a memorial to the late sokou fiddle player who often collaborated with Touré. Everything else came together almost on the spot, like the rhythmic "Yo Pouhala", composed one afternoon and recorded the next, or "Yerfara", with an impeccable, chunky rhythm guitar riff to make Keith Richards weep with envy. The emphasis throughout is on rhythm, and the tama talking drum that's always been a feature of Touré's music takes a place near the front of the band. "I've always loved tama, for its sounds . . . It's a symbol of call to reunion." Starting out as a guitarist in a soukous band, everything was altered when he became an accompanist to Mali's greatest legend, the late Ali Farka Touré (with whom his mother had performed). Later, as a solo artist, he's become renowned across the globe for his passionate guitar work and fiery singing, one of the masters of his art. But, Touré says, don't call it desert blues. Don't call it African rock. That's lazy. It doesn't need labels like that. Instead, call Wande the unexpected. Call it joyous. Call it the music Samba Touré is making right now.

$23.50 IN STOCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; includes download code. When Malian singer and guitarist Samba Touré was planning Wande ("The Beloved"), his third Glitterbeat release, he had strong ideas for the way it should sound. But once the sessions were over, he knew he had something entirely different, something even more satisfying: a collection of songs where warmth filled the grooves of every song. "We had a totally different album in mind," Touré admits, "a return to something more traditional, almost acoustic. I think this album is less dark than the previous ones. It has some sad and serious songs, but it sounds more peaceful. All the first takes have been kept." That spark of spontaneity fires across the whole disc. It was recorded quickly, in "about two weeks, only in the afternoons and with breaks on weekend to play in weddings, so it was very relaxed!" Wande is just as direct and powerful as Touré's previous work, but everything moves with a bright, danceable sensibility. Gone are the intense guitar and ngoni duels, replaced with short, incisive guitar solos and a solid, laid-back groove. Only two songs had been written before going into the studio: the title cut, which is a love song to his wife, and "Tribute To Zoumana Tereta", a memorial to the late sokou fiddle player who often collaborated with Touré. Everything else came together almost on the spot, like the rhythmic "Yo Pouhala", composed one afternoon and recorded the next, or "Yerfara", with an impeccable, chunky rhythm guitar riff to make Keith Richards weep with envy. The emphasis throughout is on rhythm, and the tama talking drum that's always been a feature of Touré's music takes a place near the front of the band. "I've always loved tama, for its sounds . . . It's a symbol of call to reunion." Starting out as a guitarist in a soukous band, everything was altered when he became an accompanist to Mali's greatest legend, the late Ali Farka Touré (with whom his mother had performed). Later, as a solo artist, he's become renowned across the globe for his passionate guitar work and fiery singing, one of the masters of his art. But, Touré says, don't call it desert blues. Don't call it African rock. That's lazy. It doesn't need labels like that. Instead, call Wande the unexpected. Call it joyous. Call it the music Samba Touré is making right now.

$12.00 IN STOCK

Midline pricing. Samba Touré's previous album Albala (GB 004CD/LP) was recorded during the fear-laden atmosphere of 2012, when northern Mali (including his ancestral village of Diré) had succumbed to sharia law and radical Islamist control and Bamako, his adopted home, still reeled in the chaos of the recent military coup. Albala received widespread acclaim and was rightfully recognized not only as the best album of Samba's career but also as an undeniable musical statement about the human toll of war and political crisis. Samba had spent years honing his artistry (including stints playing with Malian blues master Ali Farka Touré and Kora genius Toumani Diabate) and Albala signposted a mature artist, full of sonic imagination and narrative fire. Gandadiko, the title of Samba's potent, diverse and ambitious new album, translates from his native language Songhai as: "Land of Drought" or "Burning Land." The title seems to indicate a return to the dark textures that marked Albala but in fact Gandadiko is a more complex story than that. Touré is known to search for the seeds of his musical ideas in the assorted stack of CDs he listens to while driving through the chaotic streets of Bamako. The out-of-the-box musical inspirations he has picked up for his new album range from Serge Gainsbourg to Bo Diddley via Tom Petty to funky psychedelia, though of course, all the raw material is instinctually filtered through the traditional melodies and rhythms of his Songhai musical heritage. The songs on Gandadiko are in fact framed by a restless eclecticism. Samba's guitar-playing has never been so anxious, exploratory and rock and roll and his voice has never been as smooth and relaxed.

$23.50 IN STOCK

Gatefold LP version on 180 gram vinyl with download code. Samba Touré's previous album Albala (GB 004CD/LP) was recorded during the fear-laden atmosphere of 2012, when northern Mali (including his ancestral village of Diré) had succumbed to sharia law and radical Islamist control and Bamako, his adopted home, still reeled in the chaos of the recent military coup. Albala received widespread acclaim and was rightfully recognized not only as the best album of Samba's career but also as an undeniable musical statement about the human toll of war and political crisis. Samba had spent years honing his artistry (including stints playing with Malian blues master Ali Farka Touré and Kora genius Toumani Diabate) and Albala signposted a mature artist, full of sonic imagination and narrative fire. Gandadiko, the title of Samba's potent, diverse and ambitious new album, translates from his native language Songhai as: "Land of Drought" or "Burning Land." The title seems to indicate a return to the dark textures that marked Albala but in fact Gandadiko is a more complex story than that. Touré is known to search for the seeds of his musical ideas in the assorted stack of CDs he listens to while driving through the chaotic streets of Bamako. The out-of-the-box musical inspirations he has picked up for his new album range from Serge Gainsbourg to Bo Diddley via Tom Petty to funky psychedelia, though of course, all the raw material is instinctually filtered through the traditional melodies and rhythms of his Songhai musical heritage. The songs on Gandadiko are in fact framed by a restless eclecticism. Samba's guitar-playing has never been so anxious, exploratory and rock and roll and his voice has never been as smooth and relaxed.

$12.00 IN STOCK

Midline pricing. When you meet Samba Touré in person, he comes off as a soft-spoken man, a man who easily charms you with his abundant smile and optimistic gait. But on his third album, Albala, which in the Songhai language means "danger" or "risk," a weighted and at times defiant side of his personality emerges. To call Albala his darkest album is an understatement, but it is not a self-absorbed darkness. The cause of Touré's worry is the crashing world around him, and more specifically the troubles echoing out from his beloved northern Mali homeland. The last year has brought cataclysmic change and upheaval to northern Mali. The tragic details of this have been globally reported, so there is little point in sensationalizing them here. But the cumulative effect of these events on Samba's music seems palpable. There is an added gravity to his voice and his words, an additional sting to his electric guitar; there are sharper edges and more complex undertones in his musical arrangements. On "Fondora (Leave Our Road)" Samba sings with indignation: "I say, leave our road/All killers leave our road/Thieves leave our road/Looters, leave our road/Rapists, leave our road/Betrayers, leave our road." And on the haunting "Ago Djamba (Life Betrays Us)" Touré warns: "We do not all have the same opportunities/Here, nobody is born rich but we all have the same value/Life betrays us." As a band member, and valued collaborator of the late Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, Samba established a significant reputation, and through his first two solo albums Songhai Blues and Crocodile Blues (World Music Network) his confidence and musical prowess grew proportionately. But Albala is a new flash point. There is more power, there is more grit, the mood is deeper, and aptly, given the album's title, Touré takes more musical risks. Recorded at Studio Mali in Bamako in the autumn of 2012, Samba is joined by his regular band members Djimé Sissoko (n'goni) and Madou Sanogo (congas, djembe) and guests such as the legendary master of the soku (a one-stringed violin) Zoumana Tereta and the fast-rising Malian neo-traditional singer Aminata Wassidje Traore. Additionally, Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, Dirtmusic, Fatalists) contributes an array of subtle atmospherics on guitar and keyboards. On the opening song, "Be ki don," Samba sings: "Everybody welcomes Samba Touré." With an album as soulful and captivating as Albala, that might not be an over-statement.

$23.50 IN STOCK

180 gram LP version housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with a CD copy of the album. When you meet Samba Touré in person, he comes off as a soft-spoken man, a man who easily charms you with his abundant smile and optimistic gait. But on his third album, Albala, which in the Songhai language means "danger" or "risk," a weighted and at times defiant side of his personality emerges. To call Albala his darkest album is an understatement, but it is not a self-absorbed darkness. The cause of Touré's worry is the crashing world around him, and more specifically the troubles echoing out from his beloved northern Mali homeland. The last year has brought cataclysmic change and upheaval to northern Mali. The tragic details of this have been globally reported, so there is little point in sensationalizing them here. But the cumulative effect of these events on Samba's music seems palpable. There is an added gravity to his voice and his words, an additional sting to his electric guitar; there are sharper edges and more complex undertones in his musical arrangements. On "Fondora (Leave Our Road)" Samba sings with indignation: "I say, leave our road/All killers leave our road/Thieves leave our road/Looters, leave our road/Rapists, leave our road/Betrayers, leave our road." And on the haunting "Ago Djamba (Life Betrays Us)" Touré warns: "We do not all have the same opportunities/Here, nobody is born rich but we all have the same value/Life betrays us." As a band member, and valued collaborator of the late Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, Samba established a significant reputation, and through his first two solo albums Songhai Blues and Crocodile Blues (World Music Network) his confidence and musical prowess grew proportionately. But Albala is a new flash point. There is more power, there is more grit, the mood is deeper, and aptly, given the album's title, Touré takes more musical risks. Recorded at Studio Mali in Bamako in the autumn of 2012, Samba is joined by his regular band members Djimé Sissoko (n'goni) and Madou Sanogo (congas, djembe) and guests such as the legendary master of the soku (a one-stringed violin) Zoumana Tereta and the fast-rising Malian neo-traditional singer Aminata Wassidje Traore. Additionally, Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, Dirtmusic, Fatalists) contributes an array of subtle atmospherics on guitar and keyboards. On the opening song, "Be ki don," Samba sings: "Everybody welcomes Samba Touré." With an album as soulful and captivating as Albala, that might not be an over-statement.