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Genre:

Afropop

Instrument:

Male vocals Guitar

Articles:
Interview

On the Internet
Another interview
Concert WOMAD 2004

Biography

Daby's story goes back two generations and has a fairy tale beginning. Once upon a time, there were four brothers who lived in a village near Kayes, in what is now the modern state of Mali. They were all shoemakers and leather workers and they strived to sustain the old traditional family trade by turning the skins of crocodiles from the nearby river into shoes, bags, pouches and wallets. But for some reason, perhaps drought or excessive hunting, the crocodile population began to fall dramatically and the family were no longer able to live from their craft. The brothers decided to disperse to the four winds and they never saw each other again. One of them, Daby Toure, went to live near Zinguinchor in Casamance, the southernmost province of Senegal, where he married four wives and produced a large brood of children. For reasons that no one has ever been able to really explain, this new Toure generation was touched by a deep love and gift for music. A younger member of the clan, Hamidou Toure, was brought up by an uncle up north in Mauritania. Once he had graduated as a doctor in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, he was sent to a sand blown desert town called Boutilimit, where he married a beautiful woman, who was half Moorish or Hassaniya and half Toucouleur. They gave birth to a son who they called Daby, in honour of his grandfather, the patriarch of the family.

DIAM  
Realworld/2004

This is afropop at its most relaxing and unpretentious, in fact it reminds me of the 1960s big "good time" group in the USA, the Loving Spoonful. Even if Daby Touré's music is unquestionable African. Daby has the same laidback way of singing as John Sebastian, and the music comes to him in the same relaxed way, simply playful. This not said to reduce the artist or his recording; as we all know it often takes a lot of hard work to create this bearable lightness. And "Diam" is also extremely well produced, with Daby himself and French digital wonderboy Cyrille Dufay at the handles. They have managed to create a laidback and varied album from these simple songs, that at times are very catchy. Exciting and inventive riffs and loops pop up in the backing which has a lovely flow behind Daby's accoustic guitar. It works at its very best on the opening track "Iris", that has potensial of becoming a real summer hit! I've been playing this CD in the car lately, and it works perfect. This music makes you happy - and move faster.
Daby Touré was playing at this year's WOMAD festival in Reading and had the difficult task of getting people to move early in the afternoon, from the big outdoor stage. But with his catchy songs and fresh stage performance he managed, only with an accoustic guitar and some percussion!
"Diam" is a lovely pop album, I think they call it - promising?

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Swahili: Francis Chagula (francis.chagula@malvik.kommune.no)
Swahili: Habiba Rajabu (habiba@online.no)
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