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| Malian guitar marvel Samba Touré will be playing songs from his new "Baarakelaw" (The Workers) album with Soulemane Kane & Djieme Sissoko. |
Here's the scoop...
Samba Touré, the keeper of African blues, and his band bring his soulful sound to Canada for the first time with a much-anticipated Toronto performance at the Aga Khan Museum's Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium on Sunday, February 23. A master musician, Touré preserves the rich legacy of West African blues through original compositions and interpretations of centuries-old songs. Joining him on stage are Soulemane Kane on the calabash and Djieme Sissoko on the talking drum (Tama), electric ngoni, and more. Together, they offer an unforgettable evening of Songhoy and traditional Malian music — deeply moving and irresistibly rhythmic.
Samba Touré’s music is defined by hypnotic guitar grooves and the intense spirit of the Sahel. Renowned as a Malian guitar virtuoso, he carries forward the legacy of Ali Farka Touré, who mentored him in the 1990s and inspired his shift to traditional Songhoy music. Samba’s debut album, Fondo (The Way), achieved acclaim with the hit single “Anbafo,” celebrating Malian women.
Having toured extensively across Europe, Samba has performed at Roskilde Festival, Viljandi Folk Festival, and more. His newest album, Baarakelaw (The Workers), released in autumn 2024 with Glitterbeat, blends blues-rock, psychedelia, and ballads. The album honours Mali’s overlooked workers and includes a poignant tribute to his late wife. Rooted in Malian life yet universally resonant, Baarakelaw reflects dignity, compassion, and humanity.
The legendary Malian desert blues artist Samba Touré, has returned with a new album Baarakelaw (The Workers) – the follow up to his highly-acclaimed 2021 album Binga. The album received ecstatic, career defining reviews and led to Samba being named the “Best Artist” of 2022 at Songlines magazine.
Baarakelaw is a vivid mix of traditional northern Malian Songhoy music, blues-rock tracks with psychedelic overtones, ballads and love songs. It weaves the sounds and styles Samba has loved and mastered during his more than three-decade musical journey. The songs deal with a central theme: the trials and tribulations of those who work street jobs in a dusty, bustling West African city like Bamako.
At the end of 2023, Samba recorded Baarakelaw in Mali’s capital city of Bamako. Making the album was particularly difficult because the recording took place at a time when the Malian energy crisis, which the country had been experiencing for over a year, was getting much worse. It had become impossible to work in a traditional studio, as none of them had generators and electricity was only available for a few hours a day. The power blackouts were totally random, and could be early in the morning, in the afternoon or in the middle of the night. Thus, whenever power was available, the musicians, who were constantly on call, gathered together as quickly as possible to continue recording at the home of Samba’s manager.
Once recorded, the mixing and production was entrusted to Mark Mulholland (Tamikrest, Alba Griot Ensemble, Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra), who finished the job in France. Mulholland brought in an ensemble of musicians to add various sympathetic textures: additional guitars, banjo, harmonica, drums and synthesizers.
Each song is a tribute to those who work small, demanding jobs in a dusty, bustling West African city like Bamako: street water sellers, itinerant tailors, housekeepers employed by families. These jobs are essential factors of social cohesion in Mali (and elsewhere), demonstrating on a daily basis that in a difficult situation, everyone needs each other.
You can find out more about Samba Touré's Baarakelaw album from Glitterbeat Records right here.
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Tickets are available for Samba Touré's upcoming show at the Aga Khan Museum – $60 regular, $54 friends, $45 seniors & students – on Sunday, February 23 right here. Watch some performance footage below.
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