Tounga, by Babsy Konate

Tounga

by Babsy Konate

supported by

OoGuN The kind of thing I love Bandcamp for. Never heard of Babsy and took a flyer on this. It's an excellent album and I have it on repeat. Could have picked a few favourites, but this is the one I try to sing along to Favorite track: Erness Fassa.

Thomas Stremfel kind of as crazy as the album cover would suggest. sounds nostalgic, but also from another world entirely Favorite track: Kana Siran.

𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 Baby's sonic terrain goes all over the map, and we love it! This is an incredibly catchy album. Favorite track: Super Mariage.

more...

	/

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Vinyl Me Please Limited Edition version of Tounga, edition of 500

Includes unlimited streaming of Tounga via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

edition of 100

Purchasable with gift card

$29 USD or more
Cassette + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Tounga via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more

	1.	Saya 04:59
	2.	Kana Siran 03:34
	3.	Erness Fassa 04:31
	4.	Tounga 04:23
	5.	Alhaye Masaye 03:57
	6.	Sogoniko Fassa 04:09
	7.	Djarabi 03:47
	8.	Nord Mali 05:24
	9.	Commun 6 Fassa 04:12
	10.	Super Mariage 04:03

about

Coming from the city of Gao, on the edge of the Saharan desert, Malian producer Baba ‘’Babsy’’ Konate is one of the key figures in the development of "Gao Rap", a regional genre of modern autotuned Songhoi music.

After presenting some of his work on our Gao Rap compilation from 2018, Tounga is the first release of the artist’s solo work, gathering a decade of tracks that merge sweet autotuned vocals, crunchy drum loops and plucked digital harpsichord, in a playful testament to 2000s PC music, with the sample packs of a modest FruityLoops project. The result is familiar yet otherworldly, drawing from an abundance of distinct cultural expression: folkloric takamba from the Songhai, Hausa film soundtracks from Northern Nigeria, Hip Hop from Bamako and Ragga from Niamey.

After relocating to Bamako and learning the art of production from his brother (the acclaimed guitarist Oumar Konate), Babsy traveled to Gao with a mobile studio, setting up shop in the center of town, soon inundated with rappers wanting to record. These ephemeral studios laid the foundation for the emergent new genre, shaped by Babsy's signature sound of fluttering melody lines and lush vocals. His productions soon became synonymous with the regional style of modern Gao music.

Global audiences might place Babsy's compositions alongside trap or soundcloud experiments, with collaged pastiche, hyper kitsch, and lo-fi aesthetics. This mix of disparate influences is best heard on tracks like the upbeat ‘’Erness Fassa’’, a dedication to a close friend, that sports a vaguely Caribbean flavor with elastic, highly addictive spacey beats, or the hypnotic programming and quivering synth pads of "Tounga", where Babsy asks Malians in exile to remember home and to their families they left behind.

Though the sound may converge with familiar genres, Babsy's tracks are soulfully earnest, with love ballads, praise songs and advice. Tounga perfectly illustrates his ability to take whatever's around and experiment in free-form innovations, forging a style that’s both his own and a new direction for Songhai music.

credits

released April 28, 2023

All songs by Baba Konate
Stereophonic Mastering by Timothy Stollenwerk
Art by @eternaldream333

license

about

Babsy Konate Bamako, Mali

contact / help

Contact Babsy Konate

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Babsy Konate, you may also like:

Agadez
by Etran de L'Aïr

supported by 137 fans who also own “Tounga”

Such gorgeous energy.Effortlessly fluid playing. Favorite track: Nak Igley Ismadrana. ps0m
go to album
Mariage
by Wau Wau Collectif

supported by 131 fans who also own “Tounga”

Fascinating Senegalese-Swedish project. As the "Collectif" suggests, many musicians are involved. The foundation of the album had been recorded in Senegal under pandemic circumstances, overdubs have been added in Sweden and Senegal. A real cross-cultural endeavour ! Carsten Pieper
go to album
Namian Sidibé
by Namian Sidibé

supported by 131 fans who also own “Tounga”

Sublime and self confident. A timeless classic. Powerful and sometimes strident Malian vocal backed by one acoustic guitar. That's all that's needed to continue the beauty of a culture. The recording quality is great, there's texture in the vocal and guitar, and space in between. tonypi
go to album
AZALEA
by Airospace

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 16, 2021
go to album
VíA DEL SOL
by Versis

featured on Bandcamp Radio Aug 17, 2021
go to album
Ode To Ghana
by Various Artists

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 8, 2014
go to album
Yaral Sa Doom
by Wau Wau Collectif

supported by 128 fans who also own “Tounga”

Top tracks: Mouhamodou Lo And His Children, Si Tu Savais Juste ......and Legui Legui's flute is just stunning ! pigneguy
go to album