“Daby Touré, a perpetual nomad, is a beautiful example of the dynamic fusion heard in African music today” (Unidivers.fr, 2021 [translation]). Born in Mauritania, he is the son of a member of the celebrated group Touré Kunda. He spent his formative years in Senegal and then lived for 25 years in France before settling in Quebec. Through his soft folk music, as warm and rebellious as a desert wind, he gathers his globetrotting sensibilities from West-African musical traditions, colouring them with the blues, jazz, pop, reggae, funk, and soul, and has been inspired by his collaborations with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Souad Massi, Maxime Le Forestier and, closer to home, Poirier.
Born in Mauritania and raised in Senegal, Daby Touré lived in Paris for 25 years before settling in Montréal. While his father and uncles formed the pioneering Afropop group Toure Kunda, Touré has always chosen his own musical path. He has long been inspired by influences ranging from African folk melodies to desert blues and including jazz, pop, reggae, funk and soul.
Touré’s songs are likely to appeal to fans of the African stars Habib Koité and Youssou N’Dour as much as to admirers of Bob Marley, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
Daby Touré has shared the stage and the studio with pop superstar Peter Gabriel, Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi, Italian folk adventurer Enzo Avitabile, African-American bluesman Skip McDonald, French pop icon Maxime Le Forestier and the Israeli-African group The Touré-Raichel Collective.
Touré has brought out three albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label and another with Universal Music. In 2015, he revived his independent spirit with Amonafi, an album released on the international music label Cumbancha.
“From the first time you hear it, prepare to hum along, tap your toes and be mesmerized by Daby’s infectious brand of global soul-tinged pop.” – Jan Gilbert, BBC Review, 2007
This gifted Mauritanian-Senegalese singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist takes a new look at Africa. A true citizen of the world, Daby Touré refuses to confine himself to traditional music.