Sahel Folk

Sidi Toure has been performing music in his home of Mali since the 1970's when he formed the Songhai Stars regional orchestra. He has won the award for best singer two times at the Mali National Bienale. Sidi is a peer to Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate, and he shares a kinship with the late Ali Farka Toure. At its heart, Sahel Folk, Thrill Jockey's debut release with Sidi Tour, is an album of friends reuniting around a glass of tea. It's Sidi Tour's second album, but the first time most of his collaborators have been documented. Chronicled in a live "field-recording" style at Sidi's sister's house, the simplicity of the takes highlight the beauty of the songs and the skill of the players. Each track on the album is a duet recording of Sidi and one friend, a product of 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.