Country : Canada (Quebec) / Senegal Label : Indépendant Genres and styles : Afropop / Folk Pop / Saharan Blues Year : 2020

Émissaire vol. 1

· by Frédéric Cardin

Daby Touré was born in Mauritania, grew up in Senegal, began his professional career in Paris and, for the past two years, has been living in Montreal. I’ve been following his musical evolution since his first album, Diam, released in 2004. The latter, along its follow-up Stereo Spirit (2007), have hardly ever left my ears in about 15 years!

They are the quintessence of Daby Touré’s art: a soft and fair voice, airy in a luminous way. A fabulous talent for melody, the one that touches you straight to the heart and remains in your memory. And a style mixing Afro-pop and folk with a particular sense of intimacy.

After a few more albums of pop and sometimes electric blues, often dressed in a modern electronic way, though discreetly, Émissaire vol.1 is an EP that announces a return to the initial path, that of Diam and Stereo Spirit. The melodies are strong, especially “Voyageurs” (I dare you not to play it in a loop), the rhythms are catchy in their simplicity, the arrangements economical but judicious.

The guitars, acoustic or electric, are in the foreground and subject to little artificial coating. Émissaire vol.1 is a duet album, with excellent Montreal guitarist Chris Velan sharing the bill brilliantly. Maybe that’s the strength of this welcome EP, because Velan fits so well with Touré’s style that it sounds like a soulmate finally met.

Having said that, I hope the next record will offer some new musical elements, in order to make the particularity of Montreal’s imprint on the language of this very talented artist better and more clearly felt.

Don’t miss the launch concert for Émissaire vol.1 by Daby Touré and Chris Velan, live on Facebook on Friday, November 13, at 5 pm.

Latest 360 Content

Enchanting Choral Croatia at the Centre des musiciens du monde

Enchanting Choral Croatia at the Centre des musiciens du monde

Perfume Genius – Glory

Perfume Genius – Glory

Viviane Audet – Le piano et le torrent

Viviane Audet – Le piano et le torrent

Tigran Hamasyan – The Bird of A Thousand Voices

Tigran Hamasyan – The Bird of A Thousand Voices

Oklou – Choke Enough

Oklou – Choke Enough

Bryan Cheng and the OSL invite discovery

Bryan Cheng and the OSL invite discovery

Blair Thomson, Half Moon Run arranger for the OSM: Chapter 2!

Blair Thomson, Half Moon Run arranger for the OSM: Chapter 2!

FIMAV | Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the museum of tremors

FIMAV | Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the museum of tremors

Deerhoof – Noble and Godlike in Ruin

Deerhoof – Noble and Godlike in Ruin

A Place To Bury Strangers on Building Sonic Weapons and Playing Shows That Feel Like Car Crashes

A Place To Bury Strangers on Building Sonic Weapons and Playing Shows That Feel Like Car Crashes

Apolline Jesupret – Bleu ardent

Apolline Jesupret – Bleu ardent

Alison Luthmers – Johann Helmich Roman : Assaggi for solo violin

Alison Luthmers – Johann Helmich Roman : Assaggi for solo violin

Choses Sauvages – Choses Sauvages III

Choses Sauvages – Choses Sauvages III

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

Everything is Recorded – Temporary

Everything is Recorded – Temporary

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal explained by Modibo Keita

Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal explained by Modibo Keita

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Subscribe to our newsletter