The legendary Malian singer/guitarist returns with his most personal and immersive album to date. Intimately recorded with a small band, "Binga" dives deep into Samba's Songhoy roots.
“On Binga, the sound is stripped back to Touré’s guitar, the earthy sound of the banjo-like ngoni and calabash percussion. The groove is taut, the vibe is stark, almost austere in its bare-bones feel, and the only chromatic, embellishment to the strictly traditional template comes from the use of harmonica on several tracks. If this fine album bore the name of a different Touré, it would rank alongside the best of Ali Farka’s legacy. And there really can be no higher praise than that.”
-- (8/10) Uncut
"A minimal Malian blues affair from the most prominent of Ali Farka Touré’s musical heirs … Binga finds him in starkly acoustic mode, his guitar accompanied only by ngoni, voices, and sparse percussion. It suits him; the best moments of his previous works were those in which he drifted into the dark blue spaces of the Sahel, and Binga plants its feet firmly in those sands.”
-- The Wire
“An album that is compelling, intriguing, and wonderfully refreshing. Play this – quite loud. Excellent.”
-- Folk Radio UK
