1 1 Toukambela 1 2 Gambary 1 3 Norou 1 4 Dagabi 1 5 Gara 1 6 Boutiki 2 7 Boroterey 2 8 Batto 2 9 Garibou 2 10 Woyhenna 2 11 Issa From the first listening to Héritage, the much-awaited fourth album by Songhoy Blues, it is clear that the 4-piece rock band from northern Mali are in a new frame of mind. With Héritage, they move into a more acoustic, creative re-imagining of the “desert blues” style that has brought them to world fame. The Songhoy are an ethnicity living along the bend of the Niger river in northern Mali (their language is Songhai, hence the two spellings that are often used interchangeably). Songhoy music is one of the backbones of the “desert blues” sound. Songhoy Blues pay tribute to some of the great musicians of the past, whose work continues to inspire them, giving ‘a big thank you to the ancestors who bequeathed works of art so that future generations could orient themselves’. Charismatic, articulate and creative, the band burst onto the scene in 2013 with a powerful style and stage manner once described as “Timbuktu Punk”. Their songs deal with issues of life and love in Mali, and are based on five-note scales, rock rhythms, gritty vocals, and glittering guitar. These elements are ever present in their new album Héritage, but with a more intimate groove laced with other sounds from different ethnic traditions from around the country. Migration and forced displacement bring new perspectives to the notion of heritage in their music. Héritage was recorded in the Remote Records Studio and Studio Moffou in Bamako, with producer Paul Chandler, and draws on the remarkable wealth of musical talent in the city. The album presents new compositions and reworkings of old classics. It is infused with the ethereal sounds of various traditional instruments, all in the hands of great Malian masters. Héritage is compulsive listening for Songhoy Blues’ fans – at home and abroad – and more widely, fans of desert blues, rock, or just good music. Optimisme album reviews: “Optimisme deals in the same joyous protest music Songhoy Blues are known for, only now bolstered with a grit that matches the multi-lingual lyrics. ‘Don’t worry/You’re going to be happy/Keep fighting today/That smile will come one day.’ Optimisme indeed” – Record Collector, 10/10 “At times it hits harder and heavier than anything theyve attempted before” – Uncut, 9/10 “Its an adrenalin rush to experience rather than listen to, and the 11 tracks are over too soon” – MOJO, 8/10 “Songhoy Blues produce song after song that is resolutely up-tempo, exuberant and loaded with optimism” – The Arts Desk , 8/10 “Both the funk stomper Bon Bon and the highlife inspired Fey Fey feature jumpy guitar signatures that John Frusciante would be proud of, and the tracks Bare and Korfo foam and twist like dust storms carried across the breeze” – musicOMH, 7/10 “A record that punches as hard as an early AC/DC album, but is still as danceable as a Rick James cut” – Loud and Quiet, 7/10
