Posted on: February 14, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Malian singer & guitarist, Sidi Touré, is receiving rave reviews for his debut Thrill Jockey release, Sahel Folk, including being prominently featured in this past Sunday’s New York Times article on independent record labels’ embracing and exploring African sounds. Released last week, Sahel Folk features duets between Sidi and one friend chronicled in a live “field-recording” style at Sidi’s sister’s house. Each recording was done through a very specific two-day process — on the first day, the friends would meet, play, and choose a song over a glass of tea. On the second day, they would record the song, allowing themselves just two takes to retain the spontaneity of the recording and reunion. The simplicity of each recording highlights the beauty of the songs and the skill of the players. Take, for instance, the below videos. The first shows Sidi with Jiba Touré performing album track, “Adema,” where Jiba teaches Sidi how to play the song before they play. (Jiba passed away after they recorded the album, and the record is dedicated to him.) The second video, which was premiered on SPIN.com last week, shows Sidi and Douma Maiga, a virtuoso of the three-stringed guitar known as the kurbu, playing a traditional song part of Songhai folklore.

Sidi Touré and Jiba Touré perform “Adema” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLfEh1VLNUs

Sidi Touré and Douma Maiga – http://vimeo.com/15969436

Listen to Sidi Touré’s “Bon Kuom” here – http://www.thrilljockey.com/assets/freedownload/Sidi_Toure-Bon_koum.mp3
Sidi Touré Online:

http://www.myspace.com/siditoure

http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/index.html?id=12775

http://musiques-afrique.com//frames/art_sidi.html

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