Baarakelaw by Samba Touré

"The most prominent of Ali Farka Touré’s musical heirs" - The Wire

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.

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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.

All songs by Samba Touré
Arranged, mixed and produced by Mark Mulholland

Home recording & editing in Bamako by Philippe Sanmiguel:
Samba Touré - guitars, vocals, backing vocals
Djimé Sissoko - ngonis
Souleymane Kane - calabash, percussions
Madou Sidibé, Aziz Cissé - bass

Recording in France by Mark Mulholland:
Mark Mulholland - electric & acoustic guitars, banjo & organ
Stéphane Doucerain - drums
Olaf Hund - synthesizers
Matt de Harp - harmonica
Sean Condron – bass

Cover painting courtesy of Daouda Traoré