Touki
'Touki' means 'journey' in the Senegalese language of Wolof. It is also the name of the collective created by British-Senegalese musician Amadou Diagne and Franco-American Cory Seznec. Together with producer Oscar Cainer, they have created two albums and toured throughout the England, France and beyond.
About Touki
Touki's sound infuses East and West African styles and traditions with Appalachian banjo, folk motifs, and orchestral arrangements. On their latest album, Diagne’s powerful percussion, Seznec’s syncopated guitar-picking and rapid-fire banjo-frailing, and guest string player Duncan Wickel’s cello-grooves provide a rhythmic foundation, while vocals, kora and violins add beautiful texture and emotional depth. The scorching sounds of Endris Hassen’s masenqo (one-stringed bowed lute) are peppered throughout both of their records, providing punctual pitstops at an Ethiopian azmari-bet, while in live settings Marius Pibarot's five-string fiddle slices through the air like lyrical electricity.
Although their material is rooted in the close connection of founding members Amadou Diagne and Cory Seznec with the addition of guest appearances from around the world, on the road Touki performs as a trio or quartet with French strings wizard Marius Pibarot and/or with American cello innovator Duncan Wickel.
PRESS
“A scintillating sequel to Ali Farka Touré & Ry Cooder’s Talking Timbuktu”
- Rolling Stone
“Gritty, attractive, scintillating… enough inventive ideas to fill not just one but several albums.”
- Songlines
“Diagne’s soaring, soulful Senegalese and Seznec’s softer lower register in English work beautifully as a duet”
- The Australian
“An intoxicating mix… infectious grooves and toe tapping melodies impressive and delightful all come together to create a classic but contemporary sound. Theirs is a journey well worth undertaking and this is an album verging on the essential”
- RnR Magazine
Touki Performing 'Yirmane'
This video is a live performance of the song 'Yirmane' on Touki's new album 'Plastic Man'. In Yirmane, Amadou calls in the Senegalese language of Wolof for an end to political corruption in Dakar and elsewhere, and sings of the need for leaders to look after their people.
Touki's album 'Plastic Man' focuses on climate change, environmental activism and spiritual matters — weaving together West African fables, personal stories and large social, economic and political questions facing our world. The photography for the album, taken by Italian photo journalist Giulio Piscitelli in the Libyan desert, harks both to the continually unfolding human tragedy of displaced populations, and the plague of plastic pollution.
Touki - 'Plastic Man’ - #4 album on World Music Charts Europe / #2 release on Global Village
Letters Of Support
These are letters of support from partners and organisations who want to make Touki part of what they do.
Touki's Maps
