By the time Tal National reached international acclaim with 2013’s ‘Kaani’, the band’s first release outside of Niger, they had spent more than a decade crisscrossing their native country, usually on dirt pathways through the Sahara, playing epic five-hour sets, seven days a week, selling their CDs on street corners and roundabouts. In the process, they became Niger’s most popular band, with songs constantly blasted on national TV and cell phones everywhere. Following FatCat’s release of ‘Kaani’, Western audiences and critics quickly embraced the band’s singular and finely-honed sound. NPR were hit by “the band’s tightness and fiery energy”; The Guardian praised “their full-tilt approach, and hypnotic intensity”; whilst Songlines wrote of ““a rich, hybrid sound that draws on familiar West African elements to create something rewardingly fresh and different”. FatCat is  releasing the dazzling follow-up, ‘Zoy Zoy’.

Within the former French colony of Niger, can be found Songhai, Fulani, Hausa, and Tuareg populations, all of whom are represented in the membership of Tal National. As such, the nation enjoys a greatly varied mix of cultures and ethnicities, all richly steeped in music. It is no stranger to highlife, kora and afrobeat musics, while giving the world Tuareg Blues and a unique brand of hip-hop. In Tal National’s music can be heard the rolling 12/8 rhythms in the Hausa’s fuji percussion, the pensive aridity of the Tuareg’s assouf and the exquisite griot guitar of Mali’s Songhai, all delivered with virtuoso precision and unrelenting energy.

After listing ‘Kaani’ in its top 10 albums of 2013, The New York Times wrote that “the music keeps leaping ahead with one surprise after another: guitar parts that align and diverge and reconfigure, drumming that pounces on offbeats. The patterns are crisp, complex and tireless.”

Almeida / Guitar

Maty / Drums

Longueur / Bass

Yac Tal / Bass

Babaye / Guitar

Omar / Drums

Keljue / Talking drum

Souleymane / Vocals

Seydou / Vocals

Massaoudou / Vocals

Luthord / Vocals

Biri / Drums

Tafa / Guitar

http://www.lenistern.com/

For over 25 years Stern has found motivation in the ever-changing world around her for her music – a sound that is equally transforming, malleable, fluid, and moving.  She came from Europe, put roots down in America, followed the winds to Africa, and her sights are always on the horizon.

Stern’s success as a jazz guitarist (awarded Gibson Guitar’s Female Jazz Guitarist of the Year Award five consecutive years) was no reason to rest on her laurels.  She led bands supported by heavyweights, who could support her big sound and strong melodies (Dennis Chambers, Bill Frisell, Michael Brecker, Paul Motian).  After 6 highly acclaimed instrumental albums Stern bravely chartered vocal waters on her 1995 album “Words” with the first of many songs to be accompanied by her monster guitar chops.

Stern was recording in Mali during the 2012 coup d’état.  Instead of returning to work again in the unstable country, Stern’s American emigrant NYC bandmates Mamadou Ba and Alioune Faye accompanied her to their Senegalese homeland to record her latest album “Jelell” (2013), featuring Faye’s family sabar percussion ensemble.  The album is a triumph of a life lived fully.