Music in Exile

This was a pleasent surprise. I enjoyed every song of the album, of course Blues is not my go to music so towards the end my attention was kinda drifting away. But the music was great, I can totally see myself going back to this album in the future.

Etno, rocky, but not boring at all

Experts in their craft. Couldn’t find a bad thing to say other than I’m not a fan of blues music.

The opening track on Music In Exile, begins with a blast, tasty guitar sounds of upbeat blues! It settles into a satisfying album of interesting songs and musical stylings I rarely have heard. The only drawback is I wish I understood the lyrics and the meaning of the songs since it isn't sung in English, but it's well sung and doesn't detract too much. I wouldn't have otherwise heard this, if not for this list, thanks! I will listen again.

Parts of this album are totally incendiary

Enjoyed this. First time for me for this group, though I have earlier Tinariwen album which is similar. I don't understand why people complain or downgrade records that aren't in English?! Climb out of your burrow. Isn't music meant to transcend language, and isn't the point of this project to discover new stuff?

I really like this album.

Awesome

Al Hassidi Terei går så hhårt jeez louiizzze gitarren låter som en loopad del av en beefheart track, Petit Metier är också banger, resten fastnade inte på samma sätt men bra

Ja kommer så gott som alltid rocka me någo som int e på engelska

Kova

spotify describes this band as desert blues and that’s a wonderful description. their music is fun to listen to and I like they’re instrumentation and production style a lot.

I just finished teaching a unit on the history of West Africa and the Songhai empire to my middle school students. One of the questions they were asked was how musical and oral traditions have kept their culture alive through the past centuries. I wish I had had this album to use to really demonstrate this connection between past and present because it speaks to both so well. And it jams. Really good!

Interesting progressive modernized roots-blues with African flavour, rhythm and lyrics.

Mali <3

I enjoyed this album. Even though I don't understand the lyrics, I found the album fun to listen to. The guitar playing is quite a different style from the other albums I've listened to, so this album stands out a lot from the rest. Favorite song: Soubour Worst song: Mali

You can't stop the music. Nobody can stop the music.

and this is what the blues are for in 2022

Its very hooky. its not that sort of stuck in the muck blues style. It actually feels like its going somewhere, about something. Ai Tchere Bele has some crazy polyrythmisim going on. That was good!

This is what this list should be about. How else am I going to encounter Malian dessert blues? (Although I think I've seen this group on the NPR tiny desks concert list) I agree with the other sentiments here about how the language barrier is a bit tough. Normally that isn't a problem, but given the history of this band and the ongoing war, it's a shame I don't quite know what they are saying.

Remarkably good blues players. It's so unique and unusual to hear what ultimately sounds like really good American blues with lyrics in a foreign language. I think what I like most about this is the blending of the two elements fits naturally. Too often musicians try to force two or more styles together for the sake of being different or unique and end up with something that doesn't work. Too often they're looking for the next peanut butter and bananas but end up with peanuts and banana flavored gum.

Big vibe

I think the instrumentals can be seen as generic blues rock that’s nothing to write home about, but the combination with traditional African music styles makes this a really cool and unique listen

Bluesy, lush, and emotional

“Desert blues,” a genre I didn’t know existed. Love it. Guitar driven, American blues influenced but very African. Great stuff.

Pleasantly surprised. Very relaxing.

I will admit the language barrier makes it harder but this is very good 4/5.

I always enjoy when I come across these Desert Blues albums from Africa when listening to the various album lists. Definitely a world I want to hear more from. There is something really cool about hearing Western blues and rock influences being integrated back with the African music that forms a lot of the black music tradition in the states (obviously a big over simplification there, but hopefully you know what I mean).

This album was delightful. Not at all what I was expecting to hear going into it. Favorite track: Irganda

4 in a row! What a great streak. Love this album (their later stuff is great too - well worth diving into!). Along with the likes of Tinariwen and Imarhan, it’s ridiculous to think of how much bluesy/pysch/rock talent has come out of this region.

Good, but a little repetitive in style

thought this was a real good afropop album

Enjoyed it, but the language difference knocks a star off

I know I’m a bit late with this one (since it was yesterday’s album) but COVID has been wiping me out. But better late than never! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Soubour, Nick Have you ever heard alt rock blues from Mali? I’ll be up front and say that I had not. They sing entirely in Songhai which I don’t understand, so I can’t really comment on the lyrics. What I can say though, is you can hear the passion and feeling I’m the singing, and the music itself is excellent. I’m honestly unsure of any bands to compare them to in order to give you an idea of how they sound. If you are a fan of blues music though, definitely give Music In Exile a listen. They’ll definitely be staying in my music library.

Sweet, another one I've never heard of. These are honestly ones that I look forward to the most. Intro guitar has a really nice tone. What language is this? Definitely going to look it up. Gah damn, that guitarist is putting in work toward the end of Soubour. Irganda picks up right away and the bass at the ends slaps, I'm really enjoying this album so far! Very enjoyable, love the last track, Mali. What a gem, this album is.

Extremely interesting album. Catchy, well written and a real hidden gem. The language difference wasn't a problem at all.

repetible

Held my attention from start to finish. Great sound.

Wow the guitar work is awesome. I hear Dan Auerbach in spite of the fact that everything else is very much African.

This album blew me away & I can’t wait to listen to more from them. Love some global blues!

A pleasant listen, very much hear Ali Farka Toure in it. Wish I understood the language, seems like they have quite a story to tell being forced out of their homes during civil conflict.

Amazing guitar work. Very enjoyable from start to finish.

After reading Wikipedia, I'm sure this album has great potential to be classical in the future. Mainly for the band members' history and their musical qualities because I think it is pretty hard to be established in the jazz/blues/rock industry without singing in English.

SOLID!

I really loved bits of this, it was music that felt like it had real joy and real stakes to it. Some real hard-thumping desert blues.

Ok, this was really cool. I had never heard of them before but from the opening of the first song I knew I was into them. And their story? Incredible. I love foreign music so I will definitely be revisiting this.

Lidt Mali Music men mere rocket i det. Overraskende groovy. Bedste var umiddelbart “Soubour” og “Sekou Oumauro”. Måske værd at lytte til dem

Very enjoyable blues, and prompts a great spotify radio

nice music, listened mostly as background music but I enjoyed the rhythms and the album all the way through. 3.7

Top notch tunes and brilliant musicianship make for some compelling blues music in exile from Timbuktu. Powerful stuff, great listen.

I enjoyed this. Well-produced bluesy fusion of geographical styles.

This is actually really cool. I think I would enjoy this live. The one thing that makes it not 5 stars for me is the different language. So much of music for me is the lyrics so I really want to hear what they are saying. I really like the call and response type lyrics. My favorite is Sekou Oumarou

Good riffs, good vocals, solid album.

I love this

Closer to 3.75 stars, interesting world music

Well worthwhile listening to. Most of the album is fairly traditional blues with an touch of Mali, but there are a couple of tracks at the end that seem to be more traditional Malian music (I guess as I don't have a lot of experience of the music from there). The vocals are smoother than Blues would normally have but they work, I will probably look for some more of their work

No había acabado la intro de la primera rola y ya me estaba gustando. Ese blues con letra en un lenguaje que no entiendo me llamó mucho la atención. Y luego el disco sigue muy bien, combinando música tradicional africana con blues de una forma muy agradable. El problema es que sí se vuelve un poco largo. Para cuando estaba en la última rola, la verdad ya tenía baja atención y estaba pensando en qué escuchar después. En fin, creo que sin broncas le alcanza para la 4 estrella.

Great tunes! Unfortunately, I can't deal with the unknown language.

Really enjoyed this one

I thought this was so great - really easily listening but totally rad blues. Will look up more about this band!

I've definitely listened to this before and really liked it. I thought it was through doing this list but obviously not! Loved it!

Immediately exiled from the book after one edition! That's harsh, and somehow symbolic. The world doesn't care, but likes to appear that it does, then quietly undo everything when people aren't looking. And so many garbage albums that outlived their relevance years ago remain. Yes, David Grey. Anyway, this is really good. To be fair, there's quite a lot of excellent desert blues and whatnot floating around these days if you listen out for it. Which is a great thing. This is a good example of it.

Nice

Soubour is a classic, Wayei great desert-trance, Petit Metier beautiful, and great finish with Desert Melodie and Mali <3

Songhoy enters the legendary Mali music scene and somehow finds themselves at home from the very first strum.

My review, a breakdown: - music is really cool, unconventional blues-type stuff: 1 point - making it into the 1001 list despite not being from the UK: 1 point - best album I've ever heard from Mali: 1 point - cover looks like a gay porno: 1 point 4/5.

Really awesome African blues. I'm digging it a lot. I'm surprised this is the first I've heard of it.

Fantastic! A contemporary album from a Mali-based group with original-sounding guitar-centric bluesy music with its own flavor and style? Hecks, YES. This album is outstanding. I'll definitely listen to it again and I'm off to go explore their other music. Beautiful guitar work, fascinating groove, and I want to know more.

KUL med något som inte är från väst! Även om det är tråkigt att det ska krävas en expedition från Damon Albarn, en signering med Julian Casablancas bolag, och en plats i en antologi till 99% fylld med västerländsk musik innan det når mig. Men, tacksam är jag ändå! För, Songhoy Blues från Bamako, Mali, är otroliga! En mix av klassisk rock, blues, och (säkert) traditionella västafrikanska sounds som jag kan för lite om för att göra någon sorts djupare kommentar. Bra är det. RIVSTARTAR med 'Soubour' (vars tunga riffs bitvis för mina tankar till Pattis 'Ain't it Strange') och fortsätter i samma höga tempo med härliga 'Irganda'. På spår tre höjs nivån ytterligare, och 'Al Hassidi Terei' har fantastiska 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)'-vibbar i de långsammare partierna. Bredvid de tre öppningslåtarna är 'Petit Metier' det bästa på albumet. Lite ömmare, lättare, akustiskarareare, och vakcrare. Bästa låt: Petit Metier.

This was great.

Really cool album! Not a band I'm familiar with, but I was often reminded of Mdou Moctar's Afrique Victime from a couple years ago. Definitely a similar desert rock vibe, although this one veers into more traditional rock and roll style sometimes, which is interesting. Overall a great project to throw on and lose track of time. I always enjoy getting something on this list that isn't from America or England. Favorite tracks: Al Hassidi Terei, Ai Tchere Bele, Petit Metier. Album art: Just a few guys hanging out, as most bands begin. The text is nice, but it's a very simple cover. 4/5

Pretty sure I've heard this before while looking into African music on Spotify. I also recommend Mdou Moctar to anyone who enjoyed this. Language barrier? I don't care! I just like the way their voices and guitars sound. The singer could be hexing my entire family for all I know. Look at that cover. These guys are better than you and they know it. Four outta five.

Nice

I liked hearing how an American genre of music was translated to another continent and sung in a different language. Though I did not understand the lyrics, the music underneath was unquestionably the blues.

This rocks!

Råtungt

Onaj zadnji je još bolji. Poslušaj

Not the album I expected at all. Absolutely superb. The guitar playing is exceptional.

Really good rockin' blues.

I probably wouldn't listen to this again but it was really good

Blues with Mali heritage mixed with 60s rock influences. What a great surprise and listen!

A great listen.

A blues/folk/rock/word music band. I actually like it.

Pleasant, light desert blues album with a fascinating story behind it. Music by Songhoy Blues feels pure and has harmonies not affected by Old World's school. A surprise, but a welcome one.

Great guitars, interesting back-story, lovely voice. No clue what the lyrics are, but I'm sure they're great too.

vraiment bien aimé. C'est certain qu'il y a une influence Talkin' timbuktu de Ali farka toure et Ry cooder, même si il se dissocie un peu avec le son plus groové blues. 4

Great work, generator. Not only is this the perfect soundtrack for while I’m in Africa (not Mali, but still); I also listened to it just the other day. I’ll happily listen to it again though. The seductive grooves, guitar riffs and group vocals are a delight. A very enjoyable and evocative listen, even if I can’t understand the words.

This is really excellent. Great mix of the energetic and the laid back, with some solid guitar work. Loved it. Fave Songs: Sekou Oumarou, Petit Metier, Desert Melodie, Weyei, Jolie, Nick, Soubour

Also highly recommend Mdou Moctar if you like this stuff!

bão

dlv

Mali blues!

Really enjoyed this. I wish I could follow / understand the lyrics, but really enjoyed the mood and energy of this throughout. Will definitely play again.

Kakav cover, čudo. Ja sjedim, lijevo je Ivan ili desno ili zapravo on sjedi jer nemaju baš kose, a ja sam onaj iza, naslonjen, a ostatak si sami popunite. Rekao bih Tomi i Zvono, ali ono, može i Anita i Jura. ne vjerujte coveru što se tiče glazbe.

Nisam očekivo ovo s coverom, super haahahah

Really enjoyed the beats in this album even if I couldnt understand the lyrics. I wasn't sure how to describe the kind of music until I read the Wikipedia and they called it "desert blues," which really fits. Knowing their story makes the music all the more impactful. Great album.

There’s more authenticity on this single LP than all of last year’s Top 40 releases combined. While not breaking any new ground musically, Songhoy are playing directly from the heart with all the chops needed to back it up. Exceedingly rare to hear music made simply for expressions sake, and though this may be ‘just’ a blues-inspired rock album it’s a damn good listen when all is said and done.

A great blues album with some great licks

Great surprise. First track was a banger.

Definitely a unique genre, first time hearing anything from desert blues. Should check out the pioneering artist as well.

gott shit, sofnaði harkalega við hlustun numer 1 og eg set hana kannski aftur i gang braðum við svipaðar aðstæður, liked it a lot

Great music but language barrier makes it difficult to listen to easily

Entretenido, diferente. Tranquilo

A very pleasant album with rolling grooves and plenty of nifty guitar work. The songs are a bit repetitive which mostly works but now and again the songs outstay their welcome. As I've said before, one of the problems of non-English singing I have no idea what the songs are about. On the whole though, was a really enjoyable album.

Good quality music

No idea what they're on about, but I liked listening to this

I've only been exposed to a little Malian and Tuareg "desert blues," but I've enjoyed the style every time and "Music in Exile" is more of the same great mixture of guitar and African rhythms and percussion. The story behind this group and album is powerful too, fleeing extremists in northern Mali who banned music and keeping their traditional sounds alive first in Bamako and later in the US and the UK, working with Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, and opening for Alabama Shakes and performing at Austin City Limits. I might have to go check out the documentary they are featured in, "They Will Have to Kill Us First."

Pop Afro grooves, energetic and hypnotic. And a fantastic live band too.

Genre: Songhai Music 4/5 Part-tribal, part-Black Keys, Songhoy Blues is an interesting world music fusion that I did not know I needed until I put it on the stereo. While I was first rather impressed at this book including such an album, but upon research you'll soon find that there's a western mind behind the boards, Nick Zinner, guitarist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He does a great job of getting the best out of these boys, whether it's a ballad or a heavy rocker. The vocals and percussion are all fairly tribal, but the added electric guitar layers prove a worthy addition to the age-old Songhai formula. Some great examples are the rocker, Ai Tchere Bele, where it rides its one chord all the way to the end, with near-experimental arpeggios behind it all. The slow and sweet, acoustic finisher, Mali, does a great job wrapping it all up sonically. Way better than I had anticipated, and will certainly stick around in the rotation. Best blues album I've listened to so far in this exercise!

Toutes les accusations de racisme portées à mon encontre sont infondées

Desert blues. Muy interesante!

Enjoyed it. Cool bluesy music, well made

Disco molto piacevole e godibilissimo. Un ottimo ascolto.

Courtesy of Julian Casablanca's record label, Damon Albarn and the singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, we have this group from Mali who have pioneered 'Desert Blues'. Whilst not drawing me in entirely this band can really play, there is some fluid guitar interweaving and some serious bluesy sounds on offer. I can't help hearing some of the characteristics of the playing on Graceland and the album explores a few more contrasting avenues as it develops. They've emerged from hard times and this is where the great blues also originated. Andy Kershaw would've no doubt loved them.....

not in the book to tell me why I should listen. bit tiresome.

better than expected but got a bit repetitive

It’s pleasant but not necessarily interesting

Ágætt stöff. Held fjarkanum að mér en það væri hægt að sannfæra mig um að breyta.

Different, good, lovely blues

Desert blues from Mali - interesting and enjoyable

Started strong and definitely worth a few more listens.

Great start to the album but I got a bit bored halfway through

Really liked this. Kind of like hearing Sunny Ade the first time.

It felt like traveling halfway around the world just to listen to The Black Keys. It was fine, but had nothing that stood out to me.

definitely nothing like i’ve heard before in my life and even though i couldn’t understand the words i felt the vibes

sometimes the international stuff just doesn't hit with me, but i liked this album.

Nice listen - not heard of them before, but nice melodic listen

Pretty catchy for something I'd likely never know about or listen to

Some straight bangers on this. Could have been a bit shorter with the lack of dynamism but still heat. 3.5.

I very much enjoyed the instrumentation and melodies, overall a very enjoyable listening experience, though not something I see myself coming back to.

This was fun, but I don't think it was for me.

kind of impressed a non-english album made it on this list. the instruments are great, and the vibes were high for sure.

Had low expectations, but it wasn't bad

I was quite excited about this having read about them and why they exist etc. the first track kicked in with a cool bluesy guitar riff and I got more excited, but it just didn't really go where I hoped. I thought with it being a bit of a rebellion it would get a bit more aggressive, or distraught or something and a few other riffs were cool, but it stayed firmly in the nice territory which I felt lacked a bit of oomph. Not bad, not great, middling fine. I doubt I'll search them out again.

A fun modern take on the blues. If I was more of a blues guy I would probably rate it higher.

I don’t know why I was so surprised by the sound of the music when they literally have the word “blues” in the band name. Super interesting and different sound.

Hhg

This is actually quite frustrating, I really wish this list had more albums like this. Every time I get one, I never really know what to make of it, because instead of getting familiar with other non-western music, I'm being given more bullshit by Happy Mondays or whatever that nobody needs to hear. I did enjoy a lot of this, some moments were so fun and energetic, I couldn't help but groove a little bit. I found it to be a bit inconsistent, you still have plenty of meandering a capella parts too. But hey, maybe I could have enjoyed those parts more if I actually had the chance to listen to more music like this.

Desert blues est un des meilleurs genre de musique. Ca m'a fait penser à Tinariwen, qui sont Tuareg. Eux sont Songhoy, quasiment la même région. Groupe créé à Bamako après exil forcé du Nord du Mali, il voulait transmettre l'ambiance du nord. Les guitares et l'ambiance sont folles, l'histoire du groupe est belle, je réécouterai.

For the most part, this was pretty boring blues music and was only interesting because the lyrics were whatever foreign language they were. However, some songs had impressive syncopated rhythms where the band's native culture shone through the otherwise boring and generic western style of the music.

01) Soubour - 8,0 02) Irganda - 7,5 03) Al Hassidi Terei - 7,0 04) Sekou Oumaru - 7,5 05) Nick - 7,5 06) Ai Tchere Bele - 7,0 07) Wayei - 7,0 08) Petit Metier - 7,5 09) Jolie - 7,0 10) Desert Melodie - 7,0 11) Mali - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,27 (73/100)

pretty fun even though I don't know the language lol. nice guitar playing

Buen ritmo.

has a decent bit of range to it, which is nice as the songs that rock harder don't do as much for me as the acoustic bluesier ones. one could write a good piece on the reclamation of African influences, but i'm content to just speak on my admiration for Ai Tchere Bele and Petit Metier. deserves to be one of the 1001? it's probably one of the more important desert blues-y albums from its time. i think yes, but i might swap it for something in a similar but distinctively Saharan vein like an album by Mdou Moctar or Tinariwen

A decent desert blues album though I find it a little boring compared to their most recent album "Heritage".

I’d love to give this a higher score, as it’s led me down a path listening to a load of North African and Saharan music. But truth be told this album, whilst good, was very background music and even though I played out twice nothing stood out sadly.

I quite liked this as background music

I don’t really listen to blues but find the lyrics to be very repetitive, the songs are catchy though. The album isn’t bad, overall it’s an ok album

Very good

This was such a surprising soulful revelation.

Pretty cool. Theres an insightful review down below somewhere so I won't restate their notes. But; Language barrier dings it a star because I can't be critical. but it is damn really good 2010's blues rock revival. Akin to the Black Keys but with more worldly influence injected in.

I think the music was really good but I didn't really like or understand the lyrics or the language that the song was spoken in. I feel like I kinda missed out on that part and it didn't really add anything to the song for me.

The music isn’t as mind-blowing as the story behind it but it was still a good listen.

sure why not

Albums like Music in Exile are why I started this journey into the 1001. Songhoy Blues brings music and culture from their corner of Mali, legitimately from Timbuktu. Their infusion of Songhai lyrics into desert blues about their war torn region is a unique perspective that you just don't get in the west. I'm not the world's biggest blues fan but I enjoyed this cool window into a different part of the planet.

Wasnt expecting this! Amazing album! The vocalizations of this language is so interesting! And the instrumentation here is also great. Amazing find!

Really cool and catchy music and even though I don't understand a word I still bob along to all of the songs. Its not a music genre I listen to often though so probably not something I will come back to but I had a great time listening through it and reading up about the band. Definitely an album that deserves to be on this list!

One of the best things about this challenge is getting introduced to artists and genres I probably never would have found on my own. I had never heard of Songhoy Blues, and I had never even heard the term “desert blues,” but the story behind the group’s formation is fascinating—and thankfully, the music itself is also a delight to listen to. The instrumentation sounds incredibly solid, the rhythms are infectious, and the whole album has a natural toe-tapping energy. I have no idea what they’re saying most of the time, but it really doesn’t matter. The music communicates plenty on its own. I especially enjoyed the grooveier tracks, where the band really locks into a rhythm and lets it carry the song. Some of the tracks do begin to blend together after a while, but it’s such an enjoyable sound that I never minded too much. I’m genuinely glad someone decided this album belonged in the book, because without this challenge, I probably never would have known it existed.

Vunzig

MI SENTO IN VACANZA. PUO' DARSI CHE IL TESTO SIA MOLTO PIU' PROFONDO DI UNA SEMPLICE VACANZA, MA NON CAPISCO NULLA E VA BENE COSI'. E' QUELLO CHE CERCAVO DA QUESTA LISTA. ME LO ASCOLTEREI RARAMENTE, MA ALMENO E' QUALCOSA DI DIVERSO IN QUESTA LISTA ANGLOCENTRICA. "AL HASSIDI TEREI" E' LA MIA TRACCIA PREFERITA. 3/5

Shows that African music is as diverse as any.

Африканская надежда на будущее. Это самая популярная около блюзовая группа из Мали. Как будто по одному описанию можно понять, что врятли вы услышите некачественную и не интересную музыку. Так, очевидно и оказалось - музыка очень достойная и необычная. Ритмика энергетика - полностью описывают желание жить и желание это обособленно от любых внешних и внутренних факторов. Желание - просто желание и в музыке ты его слышь абсолютно в каждой композиции. Очень приятный шлейф панковости и грязности звука. Мне альбом понравился на уровне опыта прослушивания чего-то неизвестного и явно уникального. Не слишком сильно откликается именно это звучание со мной,поэтому. Оценка 5/10.

Sounded pretty good despite not being able to understand it. I liked the rhythm, upbeat tempo and vocals.

Without being able to listen to the lyrics its just okay. Reading the history I wish I was able to understand them more.

Some great songs but I don't know the genre well enough. Towards the end it sounds a bit repetitive. 3.5/5

Pitkästä aikaa afrikkalaista musiikkia. Tämä oli miellyttävää kuunneltavaa, vaikka sanaakaan en ymmärtänyt. Yhtyeellä on varsin kiinnostava taustatarina.

Bueno world music

Interesting to hear blues mixed with music from another country

There is stuff going on here. Good stuff.

That’s more like it!

DNF soubour Enjoying this?! (Good guitar) Petit metier Sekou feels a little on the slower side for me

07/09 Not bad

Surprisingly enjoyed this one. I’m not usually the biggest fan of international music (I like to understand the lyrics), but this one was a great vibe

Solid blues album. Not riffs for riffs sake, but well played guitar, drums and bass.

i like it, but it’s really not my cup of tea

Generally enjoyable listen

African blues not bad.

Fav song: Al Hassidi Terei

It was fine, upbeat and fun. I think if I heard this type of music more regularly I would appreciate this album more. It’s good for people hanging out, bars, cafés whatever. I can see myself in a bar with friends downing shots and loving this music, but I would never intentionally sit down and listen to it at home.

Chuckled listening to the first song. Reminded me of modern car commercials with the electric guitar riffs. What I took out of this album is that it combines world music with blues rock instruments. It’s a fascinating concept but something I’m not inclined to listen to further. It’s probably a lack of sleep but I was impatient for this album to finish during the last 4-5 songs (2.5-3).

Nice to hear some more African representation. Pretty enjoyable all around. I would give this 3.5 if I could.

Not bad. African blues. Won't come back to this but shoutout to Timbuktu

I don't understand any of this, but I'm having a great time.

Good

I don’t need to understand the language to appreciate how TALENTED these guys are. And how good the beats are! I was bopping my head immediately to the first song. I am so glad I discovered them. What a gem. Their story makes me tear up. This is the one of the best examples of the healing power of music.

Listened Before? N Pretty eclectic. I didn't understand a word but still didn't hate it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Sekou Oumarou

Wonderful vocals and unique sound, very nice listen

I'm vaguely familiar with Songhoy Blues, having come across them a few years ago through a recommendation on Spotify. I liked them well enough then, and I like them well enough now. They have style, enjoyable tunes, and an incredibly compelling story behind them, too. Musically, it's good, but there isn't quite enough here for me to feel justified in giving it 4 stars. That said, it's a very strong 3-star album.

Starts off with a banger, but unfortunately settles short of that.

Really solid overall - had never heard of them. Fantastic guitar playing 3

Lovely!

Quite fond of this, very pretty and moving.

3.75?

I liked this! I don’t speak any Songhui so have no clue what they were saying but really liked the persuasiveness of the songs. And whoever sings the bass line has a really has such a nice tone

Probably never would have heard this without this site tbf Pleasant but not really my thing

Found the first few tracks life-affirming stuff but the second half(-ish) less interesting and a bit ‘desert blues by numbers’ in parts. Didn’t like the Kashmir cover much. Enjoyable overall though and will revisit.

Good beats, I enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to something different and more global! After a while I got bored of it and DNF. (3)

It was fine.

Love the sound. Difficult to speak about it more.

3

Cool concept, but I don't really see why I should hear this before I die. The songs (and the album as a whole) grow tiresome real quick.

Para lo raro que se me hace escuchar musica de Mali, este album es bastante digerible y con una instrumentalidad que mezcla la influencia africana con cositas mas occidentales a las que estoy acostumbrada. No entendi un pedo de lo que dicen pero quien soy yo para hablar si soy fan de liz fraser 7/10

Afrikan blues rock, other worthy OG blues artists Irganda Nick

3 de 5 El álbum debut de la banda maliense Songhoy Blues coproducido por Nick Zinner, es una mezcla increíble de desert blues, melodías tradicionales de Tombuctú y rock visceral. Nació como un acto de resistencia cultural tras huir de yihadistas que prohibieron la música en el norte de Mali; los ritmos africanos y los cantos en dialecto Songhoy se entrelazan con guitarras eléctricas ágiles y potentes, que también evocan al blues estadounidense (John Lee Hooker). A destacar: Track 1 - Soubour Track 5 - Nick Track 7 - Wayei Track 8 - Petit Metier Track 10 - Desert Melodie

niet helemaal convinced

Good to have a bit of desert blues in the list.

More African Jazz. Liked it a bit more than the recent Toure album they’re not doubt influenced by.

3.5 stars. Definitely will revisit this one. My new found passion for Rammstein opens up the way for this. Meaning that I'm more tolerant of stuff not in English. No idea what they're singing about, but it's catchy!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. Its loaded with some killer riffs and grooves. 3.5

Some really fun grooves and guitar in this. Pleasantly surprised.

Parts of this I didn't like but there was more that I did like. It was more the groove than the melody that I found appealing.

Really great album, feels like a vibe all the way through. These are the kind of albums that I appreciate on the list because I don’t think I would have been exposed to it otherwise.

Where are these guys from... TIMBUKTU!!? *soyjacks and cums*

Interesting

really good. “soubour” is a gorgeous album opener. first half is the strongest, tho i liked “jolie” towards the end.

Cool album, cool looking band too. Very groovy. Soubour and Petit Metier were my favorites. 6.4/10

great instrumentals but the vocals were a little lacking, might be the fault of the audio quality though

Música de negros, para negros, que se ha vuelto increíblemente comercial y gracias a eso, tenemos maravillas como esta, a pesar que la mayor parte del tiempo me sentía confundido de escuchar lo que estaba escuchando, se siente blues en cada nota, no es algo hecho al azar, gran disco.

I loved the story behind this - the way that music forces its way through the most dire situations and can bring people back to countries that have been stolen from them is one of the most inspiring and enduring lessons you can learn. I also just, y'know, liked listening to this. Because I could only pick up the odd bit of lyricism, it became a little repetitive, but that's on me and my poor language skills.

Liked this better than I expected, but got a little repetitive by the end. Good vibe, though.

Really cool album, Malian rock and roll! Didn’t understand a single word in the whole album but it had really cools vibes!

5/10

DNF

3.5/5

OK, fair play, never let it be said, I thoroughly enjoyed this...

Yeah, pretty funky and fun!

You can hear the rain outside my window and the desert blues inside. Being betwixt and between is not just for this scene but for this band of exiles as well. I appreciate the incorporation of blues music into their context and think it's generally successful on the record. The political dimension of the record might be lost without some research, but the songs match what you'd expect by reading their Wikipedia entry or knowing about the civil conflict of the 2010s in Mali. A greater connection to the themes of resilience, unity, and hope would only reinforce how I feel in this review — important music, pretty solid, but not something I'm going to reach for frequently.

6.5/10

This was a very well done album. The songwriting was great, the musicianship was great, everything about it screamed great. Is this something I would come back, to probably not. But I respect it a lot.

Fun album

Really nice bluesy African guitar music.

I enjoyed listening to this but there it was just missing those moments that make it really stand out.

Totally out of my comfort zone but I liked the experience of listening to it!

5/10

Highlights: Soubour, Sekou Oumarou, Nick, Wayei I sure didn't expect Malian alt rock on this list. Reading about their story I've got the notion that they are a bit of an industry plant. They had a crazy amount of backing from industry veterans. I do like the music though, but I do have to say that it has a heavy western alt sound which is, given the earlier context, obviously not a coincidence. It's sad that this is probably on this list mostly because of that backing. Also, it's a shame I couldn't find a translation of most of the lyrics because I am interested in what they have to say since their background story is quite interesting. Without knowing that, I'm left with a bunch of same-ish sounding imitations of alt rock with their national elements.

Enjoyed this a lot, loads of fun. Maybe just gets a little bit same-y though

This is another example of why I'm glad that I'm going through this project a new band that I had not heard before. Pretty good album, not a 5 star but still pretty good.

Interesante, no me esperaba que tenga una carga de blues rock tan grande, me sorprendió en varios momentos, a pesar de no entender nada de lo que dicen las letras ya la música me convenció de que está bueno.

Way outside my wheelhouse, but I really enjoyed listening to this. Wouldn't necessarily return to it, but appreciate it for what it is. 3/5.

A lot of people want this list to expose them to seldom heard and/or impactful albums, and this definitely fits the bill. It's not a particularly impressive album musically speaking and starts to get samey real fast, but it does have some cool stuff in it. Pretty standard but well done outlaw blues rock riffs are on almost every song. A few dissonant and mysterious chord progressions break up the monotony. The main appeal of this music is probably the vocals, in particular these chants that pop up often. They add a gravity to a genre that admittedly has lost its edge over the past century or so of its life. An interesting listen.

The music was enjoyable and I think I got about as much out of the album as I could.

3/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/songhoy-blues/music-in-exile/ Some nice grooves, but didn’t grab my attention too much. Hurray for diversity in the list, though!

mr worldwide

Cool story behind the album Not my style but giving it 3 for production and creativity

This was cool

Aunque no hubiera ninguna canción que me gustara en particular, me gustó la experiencia en conjunto. También me gustó investigar sobre la banda y sus orígenes, aprendí mucho.

Well It was interesting for sure :D

I ended up liking this album A LOT more than I thought when I first listened and realized it's not in English. Beats/vibes were immaculate.

okay, vor allem die Geschichte. Aber ist das ein Klassiker?

Best Track - "Soubour"

Sjarmerende og kult til tider. Repeterende og intetsigende ellers.

Likte det! Soubour og Petit Metier lagt til i lista.

Har hørt nok på de gamle mesterne innen dessert blues, til å kunne fastslå at denne plata er repeterende og flat.

Åpenbart bra, men også litt for mye av det samme. Språkbarrieren blir for stor.

Favorite Song: Nick

No es mi estilo de musica, por lo tanto lo califico con un 3, porque no puedo decir que me guste o no me gusta.

Nice

Chill

Totally listenable

Me encantóooo

Really liked this. I've listened to more African music this past year than I have my whole life. I will definitely add this in my rotation.

First album to come up from Africa. Delightful surprise

Didn't really care for this album

It was hard to engage fully in the music, not knowing the language they were singing in, but the music as a whole has a lot of feel and passion throughout. My main fault with this album was the tonal shift in the second half... There was a clear shift in the songs, from more upbeat and experimental to sorrowful, and it made the second half of the album fall slightly flat for me. Favourites: Soubour Irganda Al Tchere Bele

I liked this one. It has a cool vibe and the music itself is pretty good. 7.5/10 Top song Al hassidi terei

Lovely.

This is awesome. Not something I'd listen to normally, but so glad I got to hear it Can't understand a word they're saying and although I wish I could that is part of the beauty, the music and their voices carry the album and this was a very enjoyable listen

Pretty good African record with some takes on rock. I liked the rock songs the most but stuff like Desert Melodie was also pretty good

I enjoyed this.

Nice listening to it in the background, very cool story about the group

Going in with an open heart ♥️ Vibed with it but won’t come back to it on my own

Good. Different

Yeah some cool grooves

No sé qué carajos dijeron en todo el álbum, pero un aplauso para el guitarrista que lo dio todo, denle ya un Grammy, por favor.

Very interesting discovery

Definitely not my usual taste but I still enjoyed it

Some good, groovy, rockin' tunes on here. It got a bit same-y by the end of the album, but there's no denying the talent on display here.

Right of the bat, the rhythm and the singing, ugh so fine. The latter half of the album didn't hit so much than the first half, but it was a great listen and put me on a good mood. The story behind the band is also interesting although tragic.

Such a cool listen. I was more acquainted with other Malian artists such as Ali Farka Touré but this is a record that encapsulates well that sound as appears to be an easy entry point to that sort of music. 8/10 [KEEP]

before listening: "world music" :( on hitting play: "oh damn, ok"

Not terrible

Will never listen again but I quite enjoyed

Great. I liked it. A bit of Carlos Santana in there.

Good album.

Probably a 4 or so without the language barrier. Grooves, sounds great. Cool backstory. Just got a little samey for me 2/3rds of the way through. Love the last track.

The music on this album sounded great, do not speak the language but from reading their sentiments are hopeful and worth a listen.

Erikoista. Todella erikoista. Viidakkofibat. Ei varmaan mene jatkokuunteluun, mutta ihan kivoista bluussahteluista pari tähteä, ja erikoisuudesta ylimääräinen Viidakon Tähtönen.

Much better after a couple of duds. What’s not to like about Malians covering the Clash?!

A nice listen, with a bluesy rock sound with hints of African music laced throughout. Even more extraordinary that this record exists given what its members had gone through to make it! It probably washed over me after a while though. It all had a good sound, but faded into the background as songs became a bit similar.

What an incredible back-story this album has! The music on it isn’t quite as remarkable, but it’s still pretty decent. It’s essentially American-style blues-rock with a Malian twist, in a similar mould to Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré, who I’m very slightly more familiar with. My inability to understand the lyrics does mean I’m unfortunately unable to appreciate all aspects of the music; no fault of the band, of course, but it does factor into my personal rating. There is a good level of energy throughout, and enough variety to keep my interest to the end. Enough for 3 stars.

A lot of the emotion does get lost in translation, but there are some good jams.

when I will go to Mali I will mention that I know this group

This one’s cool because the instrumentals are unashamedly Western, just with non-English vocals. They’re definitely bluesy, and each song is actually distinct from one another. That’s something American blues rock bands should take note of. Their story is really interesting, but it’s hard to find trustworthy lyric translations for their songs. I think the feelings of the music carry through, but I wish I had a little more regarding the lyrics. Again, good background listen and they’d probably kick ass live, but not something I’d jump for again. Favorite track: Petit Metier

Quite enjoyable and very different!

I feel like i need more context but some of these songs really fucked

Like how hypnotic and repetitive (in a good way) this is but wish it had a less polished production and would just generally get even wilder and into more psychedelic territories. Either way, this is, again, the type of albums I wish this list had more of.

Holy shit, this is a cool album. The guitar is insane. I didn't expect more traditional African style vocals to work so well with rock music. This is a true gem that I would have never listened to if not for the generator.

Pretty good. Would I ever listen again? Probably not. Did I enjoy it? Also probably not. I would absolutely recommend this to someone who wants to listen to music made by people from Tumbuktu, though.

Uhmm I don't know Stand-outs - Irganda - Petit Metier

This was not what I was expecting, I don't know what I was but not this, and it was pretty good!