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 finelyhoned 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 release the dazzling
follow-up, ‘Zoy Zoy’.
‘Zoy Zoy’ is a distillation of Tal National’s traditional roots and tireless drive into pure joy and celebration. The songs are intense yet sophisticated, combining original numbers with new arrangements of West African folk songs, dealing with themes of love, tolerance, peace, feminine beauty and the woman's physical dance expression based on traditional African rhythms.