More about: Songhoy Blues

In blues as in life, you will always find struggles. Malian outfit Songhoy Blues understand this perhaps better than anyone making music in 2020. Their infectious, joyful sound - which itself is rooted in blues as well as in the Songhoy tradition - carefully takes struggle and builds a great sense of hope and happiness around it.

Their third album Optimisme carries this creative flame high, high in the air. As you could guess from the album title, Songhoy Blues are keen on the idea of spreading positivity, and as an outfit who were born out of adversity, Aliou, Oumar, Garba and Nathanael are uniquely positioned to do so. 

We caught up with Oumar Touré, who kindly shared his emotional wisdom with us, and gave us an insight into the making of their stunning new album.

Gigwise: How are you?

Oumar Touré: Okay! We are doing well despite the pandemic situation and we sympathise and send love to all the families of the victims of the virus...

GW: What do you feel about the release of your new album?

OT: The release is going well in spite of the unusual conditions linked to Covid-19. Under normal conditions we would obviously be on tour to reach more people with this album. The record is full of diverse sounds and very forthright songs which we would like to see and feel connecting to people. But with the current situation we have to be satisfied with the social media and online activity...

GW: What was the situation in Mali during lockdown?

OT: In Mali during the lockdown period it was very hard for people. We are in very poor countries that don't offer unemployment benefits or insurance to the population, so monitoring was the key word. Everyone is wondering 'how am I going to survive in the coming days' and for us artists it's worse because we're not in an organised sector of activity, we have no help or monthly income, it's a total disaster, to be honest.

GW: Your band were created during a period of unrest - what was your initial purpose for playing together?

OT: Our group was born in the troubles. It should be remembered that before the crisis we were young musicians from North Mali who know each other slightly and we occasionally talk to each other, but the reason that brought the group together was mainly protest. In 2012 we were in the streets to protest against the occupation of the northern regions of Mali by armed groups. But our voices were not heard. It was actually at the occasion of a wedding that we were talking about the issues and became animated together.. We said "the best way to protest is to form a group and write committed lyrics about the situation.”

GW: Has that developed over the years?

OT: The band's vision is still very much linked to the situation in the country and in Africa in general - as long as [there is] war, famine, immigration, religious extremism, lack of schooling, we will continue to be critical and vocal about these problems wherever music can serve us..

And unfortunately in Mali the situation is still very precarious and has not really moved since 2012.

GW: What can a guitar say that a person can’t?

OT: Of course the guitar can say what some people can't say in the sense that people are more sensitive and open to music and guitar players. Opinion leaders are always perceived through corporatist grids and opinions can be very controversial.

GW: Do you see your guitars as a further member of the band?

OT: Our guitars are certainly precious to us. Just like any other instrumentalists would say. Our guitars are instruments, but beyond that our guitars are our weapons of war that allow us to be listened to, that allow our voices to count and that allow us to leave a legacy for future generations.

GW: You transform the tradition of blues into a positive pursuit: where does that energy come from? 

OT: We were born and raised in a traditional blues atmosphere that was never out of touch with daily life, our elders have always sung about bravery, living together, peace, drought etc...and I think our new musical style is on the same ideological track. We just add other things like bad governance, religious extremism on the bill because these are the realities of our world today. The only difference is that we are rather much more energetic musically. 

And this energy comes first of all from our frustrated state and from the difficulties from which the Songhoy Blues was born. Also, this energy comes from the influences of the great bands that we can now listen to thanks to technology. And even better: this energy comes from our different experiences on the road in recent years.

GW: Your new releases are of course all about being optimistic - how do you stay optimistic?

OT: First of all, we want our populations to remain optimistic in the face of a security and political situation that is struggling to establish itself. This lack of a "return to normal" is being experienced as fatalism in Mali and the Sahel in general: people no longer believe in the return of strong states in the Sahel, they no longer believe in developments and good governance. 

Moreover, in the face of the pandemic that is bringing the whole world to its knees, we invite optimism because, being artists, we are not specialists in providing technical solutions, only with the many initiatives, wills and coalitions that are taking shape every day, we will eventually win. 

GW: Do you have tips for other people on how to stay optimistic? 

OT: The biggest challenge is to succeed in bringing together our visions, your assets and our skills and we will find a solution. This is what we give to optimism as advice: remain sensitive to human difficulties such as the distance that separates us, the colour of the skin or the divergence of beliefs.

GW: How do you hope your album will make people feel?

OT: Our hope is to reach a large audience to savour our music and to bring joy into their hearts. And finally our greatest wish is that everyone who has listened to the album is interested in the dramatic situation in Mali, that people ask themselves what is Mali, what are the Malians, what is the richness of Mali's culture, what is the wealth of Mali's people, what is the cultural and musical richness of this beautiful country.

GW: How was working with Matt Sweeney?

OT: Our collaboration with Matt Sweeney went well, let's just say that we had the opportunity to work in the past on our album EP Meet Me in the City with this great man and great musician full of talent and experience. But when we went back to the studio in New York with him for the album OPTIMISME, right away the atmosphere was relaxed. We thought we were a family jammer between musicians except that during all the work he pushes us to have a very great energy as if it was live performance without distorting what we want to achieve. Every remark of Matt Sweeney was precious, every touch he brings was magic. In the end we all find ourselves dancing as if fatigue never existed in any of us.

GW: How does it feel to bring traditional Malian music to other countries?

OT: The effect of taking traditional Malian music elsewhere for us is a sense of pride – but also a challenge. The pride of saying ‘Mali - Songhoy Blues’ is like being on a mission for our country to promote the culture and image of the country. And the return and feedback of people gives us a great feeling of joy.

GW: What is your life ethos?

OT: We believe in freedom of point of view, equal opportunities and living together. Our philosophy of life is that of the very modest people who live in the country as ordinary people because we are convinced that only by this attitude we can be at the school of life and teach in turn the generations that will succeed us.

Optimisme is out now on Transgressive Records.

More about: Songhoy Blues