Batuki Music Society and Small World Music Society present

Sidi Touré

Thursday, September 29, 2011 at the Lula Lounge

"Sidi Touré is a worthy successor to Ali Farka Touré. Among Songhaï musicians, Sidi is the best.
Sidi Touré has all the talent, quality, simplicity, playing and singing skills; it's incredible.
We need people like Sidi."

Bassekou Kouyaté, 2010 Grammy Award nominee

Sidi Touré is a singer-songwriter from Mali who has garnered global acclaim for thought provoking songs that honour African sonic traditions in a manner that appeals to listeners from any continent.

Born in 1959 in the ancient town of Gao, Mali, he made his first guitar as a child, constructing it from his wooden writing slate. Growing up, Sidi Touré faced a conflict between the inexorable pull of music and the expectations of family and society, plus the significance and onus of a past that came with being born into a noble family. The Touré family had been sung about, and sung to, by traditional griots for centuries, but until Sidi challenged the rules as a small boy, the Tourés did not sing.

Throughout his time making music, Sidi’s sound has both captured and challenged his roots. His music moves from the translucent swaying takamba to the trance inducing Holley, while the lyrics often address many non-traditional issues. Sidi has a critical mind and his songs have a purpose. His just-released album, ‘Sahel Folk’, a SPIN pick, features spontaneously recorded duets with other Malian musicians.

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Batuki Music Society gratefully acknowledges the support of Ontario Arts Council and Canadian Heritage.