Niafunke

Mojo - "...The blues reign supreme here once again....the original bluesman [delves] even further into prehistoric rock..." Q - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...Toure comes home in style....the kind of big-boned, backyard affair that no amount of elaborate studio technology can match....NIAFUNKE marks a welcome step backwards. And a good three forward." CMJ - "...[Toure's] use of complex hand percussion,...violin, and a female call-and-response chorus will remind you that the rhythms of the Niger River...are the supple influences thatmake NIAFUNKE such a special message..." The Wire - "...The blues strand is still much in evidence and deeply satisfying, but Toure at home seems more than ever in touch with Mali's indigenous musical tradition, the richness of which has few parallels anywhere in the world..." The Wire - Included in Wire Magazine's "50 Records Of The Year ['99]" CMJ - Included in CMJ's "New World '99 Top 5." Dirty Linen - "...further exploring the taproot of the blues....NIAFUNKE is a rich, subtle piece of work..." The Wire (1/00, p.67) - Included in Wire Magazine's "50 Records Of The Year ['99]" CMJ (1/10/00, p.25) - Included in CMJ's "New World '99 Top 5." Q (9/99, p.117) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...Toure comes home in style....the kind of big-boned, backyard affair that no amount of elaborate studio technology can match....NIAFUNKE marks a welcome step backwards. And a good three forward." The Wire (8/99, p.52) - "...The blues strand is still much in evidence and deeply satisfying, but Toure at home seems more than ever in touch with Mali's indigenous musical tradition, the richness of which has few parallels anywhere in the world..." CMJ (7/12/99, p.27) - "...[Toure's] use of complex hand percussion,...violin, and a female call-and-response chorus will remind you that the rhythms of the Niger River...are the supple influences thatmake NIAFUNKE such a special message..." Mojo (7/99, p.106) - "...The blues reign supreme here once again....the original bluesman [delves] even further into prehistoric rock..." Dirty Linen (10-11/99, p.70) - "...further exploring the taproot of the blues....NIAFUNKE is a rich, subtle piece of work..."

Ali Farka Toure is a guitarist from Mali whose style draws almost equally upon the folk music of his homeland and American blues, particularly the dark and minimal repetitive-trance style of John Lee Hooker and acoustic country blues guitarists such as Mississippi John Hurt. In the past, his (uniformly fine) albums have featured guest shots and collaborations with Ry Cooder and members of the Irish trad-folk group the Chieftans, but here it's back to the roots.
Recorded in a Toure's home village in Mali, with a small group of singers and players, NIAFUNKE is delightfully low-key and captivating. Beautifully picked acoustic guitar combines with shimmering electric guitar percussion, voices, and violin to weave the spacious, circular melodies that explore the common ground shared by the blues and African folk music. "Tulumba" glimmers like a desert mirage, and "Pieter Botha" sounds like a Delta blues tune played by a wandering musician while travelling through Spain and England in the Middle Ages.|