Ibibio Sound Machine
Ibibio Sound Machine
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Reviews (6)
Pitchfork
d. 14. Apr. 2015
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Minna Zhou
d. 14. Apr. 2015
"Kaani was a joyful barrage of traditional Hausa and Zarma vocals, soukous guitars, reggae synths, and percussion, all rolled up into a decidedly rock aesthetic ... On their second-ever international release, Zoy Zoy, they build on Kaani and amplify everything to the nth degree ... The music is colorful and bright and dizzying. It recalls the energy and wall-of-sound quality of Konono No 1, except more frenzied and texturally varied. Tal National are masters of lightning-speed time changes too, able to lock into a slower bluesy guitar solo as easily as an impromptu mbalax dance break".
AllMusic
2015
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Timothy Monger
2015
"After breaking onto the international stage with their 2013 release Kaani, West African combo Tal National follow up with the dazzlingly sophisticated Zoy Zoy. Based in Niamey, the capital of Niger, Tal National blend an array of styles like highlife, Songhai, Afro-beat, and desert blues into their music, ultimately transcending traditions and flashing the kind of intense musicianship only achieved by those who gig every night for hours on end, which is purportedly the norm for this gifted band ... More aggressively played and weirdly shape-shifting than its predecessor, Zoy Zoy is also a joyous and celebratory set using its complexity to draw in rather than exclude the listener".
The quietus
d. 19. May 2015
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Richie Troughton
d. 19. May 2015
"Tal National's sound fabric on new album Zoy Zoy is intricate and colourful. The music turns in wild and unexpected directions as psychedelic hues emerge and patterns form that may not have previously seemed possible ... the panic-strewn guitar acrobatics explode on each of Zoy Zoy's tracks - over 46 minutes and eight tracks the relentless energy never lets up. The group's use of Hausa's fuji percussion creates head spinning rhythms in 12/8 time - a measure of 12 counts, each one eighth of a note long, with the counts divided into four groups of three. The diverse north African influences from Malian blues, desert rock, afrobeat and highlife can all be heard within their grooves ... Distilling many popular African music styles, while never replicating any - it sounds purely like Tal National, and throughout Zoy Zoy their sound leaves no room to contemplate anything else once it sucks you in".
Mojo
2015 July
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David Hutcheon
2015 July
"Fans of the Niger-based band's previous international release (...) will be delighted this one makes no more sense: the musicians still play rumba, high life and a myriad other African guitar styles almost simultaneously, songs leaping borders without warning. So rhythmically dense (...), the band refer to their sound as "very rock'n'roll". Can't argue".
DownBeat
2015 June
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Joe Tangari
2015 June
"Niger's Tal National formed in 2000 and is an institution in its homeland, honing its fiery performances in marathon concerts. 'Zoy Zoy' is its second international release, and it is brilliant. African music is known for its rhythmic complexity, but the way this band locks together is uncommon everywhere".
fRoots
2015 May
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Liam Thompson
2015 May
"This large band from Niger comprises members of various ethnic groups - Songhai, Fulani, Hausa and Tuareg - and incorporates their music into its own, with dramatic results ... Beautifully organised chaos, a combustible brew of fast and esoteric time signatures, complex drum patterns, muscular guitar and voices set back in the mix and an endless supply of splintered melodies hanging on like grim death before being susperseded by more splintered melodies ... Go with it and you might find your bearings. You might even hear a snatch of a calm, lyrical passage. But it never lasts. The Sahelian fury resumes".