Daby Touré (born in Mauritania in 1975) is a Mauritanian singer-songwriter … Read Full Bio ↴Daby Touré (born in Mauritania in 1975) is a Mauritanian singer-songwriter who was based in Paris and is now based in Montréal, Canada. Born into the Touré Kunda musical heritage, he co-founded Touré Touré in Senegal before moving to Paris, France, and becoming a solo artist.

Touré's story goes back two generations when four brothers were living in a village near Kayes, in what is now the modern state of Mali. They were all shoemakers and leather workers and they strived to sustain the old traditional family trade by turning the skins of crocodiles from the nearby river into shoes, bags, pouches and wallets. But for some reason, perhaps drought or excessive hunting, the crocodile population began to fall dramatically and the family were no longer able to live from their craft. The brothers decided to disperse to the four winds and they never saw each other again. One of them, Daby Touré, went to live near Zinguinchor in Casamance, the southernmost province of Senegal, where he married four wives and produced a large brood of children. For reasons that no one has ever been able to really explain, this new Touré generation was touched by a deep love and gift for music. A younger member of the clan, Hamidou Touré, was brought up by an uncle up north in Mauritania. Once he had graduated as a doctor in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, he was sent to a sand blown desert town called Boutilimit, where he married a beautiful woman, who was half Moorish or Hassaniya and half Toucouleur. They gave birth to a son who they called Daby, in honour of his grandfather, the patriarch of the family.

Daby Touré grew up in Boutilimit, Nouakchott, and Casmance before going to live with an uncle in the village of Djeole, near Kaedi, on the banks of the Senegal river in Mauritania. His parents had divorced, and Touré's father couldn't be seen to be raising young children on his own. In Djeole, Daby soaked up the language, culture and music of his Soninke people, as well as Touré of the neighbouring Toucouleur and Wolof. He learned all about farming and cattle rearing. It was a secure village childhood. 'With hindsight, I think the times I spent in the village were the most important in my life, because that's where I was forged,' Touré remembers. In the black velvet warmth of the night, he would get together with friends to bang out rhythms on old tins, canisters and cardboard boxes and entertain the village. And when diversion was required at henna and wedding feasts, Touré and his mates would often be sent for.

Later, Touré moved back to the capital Nouakchott to live with his father. After a tiring day at the hospital, Hamidou would often relax by playing music with his friends. Touré wasn't allowed to touch the guitars, because his father did not want him to develop any crazy ideas about becoming a musician. But he stole time on the instruments anyway and taught himself the basics. He also began discovering the exotic joys of western pop music, thanks to radio, pirated cassettes and the occasional TV broadcast. The Police, Dire Straights, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson were powerful formative influences. Although a deep fascination and hunger for music was developing in the teenager, Touré's father continued to insist that music was not a career option for a any well brought-up young man. 'In Mauritania, the profession of musician doesn't really exist,' explains Touré. 'A profession is something you train for and get a diploma. My father was more fearful for me than anything else, because he knew what a musician's life consisted of and for him it wasn't a future.'

In 1989, political unrest and inter-ethnic conflict was making life in Mauritania very difficult, so when Hamidou received an invitation from his younger brothers Sixu and Ismael to join their group Touré Kunda, although at first he hesitated, the offer seemed too good to refuse. He sold his house to pay for his son to come along with him. The rich musical life of Paris was a magical revelation to the eighteen-year-old Touré, and although his father continued to brow-beat him about his studies, music slowly became his whole life. He began to play little gigs in bars and college parties with rock and cover bands. After he finally gave up his course at Business School, despite his father's objections, and went to live in an African hostel or foyer in Paris, Touré teamed up with his cousin Omar and formed Touré Touré; the two 'Touré'. They began to explore the vivid common frontiers of jazz and African music.

A meeting with Jean-Pierre Como, the keyboard player with established avant-jazz-fusionists Sixun, kick-started a chain-reaction which lead to a record deal with French independent label Pygmalion Records and the release of Touré Touré's one and only album 'Ladde'. The Sixun connection opened up the doors to the bubbling Parisian jazz scene, with its open-mindedness and vitality, and Touré fell in love with bands like Weather Report, Joe Zawinul and Pat Metheny. It was their originality and artistry that fascinated him above all else. Despite the fact that 'Ladde' was very well received in France and Touré Touré played hundreds of concerts all over the country, as well as further afield in Canada and Brazil, Touré felt dissatisfied with the band's progress. It seemed that the industry, the media and audiences were only interested in the roots, African and dance band aspects of the group.

'The music that I play is based on exploration, on original compositions. It's like a painter who gets up to paint a painting. I get up in the morning, I pick up my guitar and I start working. I don't know where I'm going but I go.'

Touré locked himself away in his room, with his own home-studio and equipment and began to write and arrange songs. He controlled every aspect of the creative process, from composition, to arrangements, to performance and mixing. That was important. Touré was in pursuit of a very individual musical vision, and he needed the time, space and solitude to make it a reality.

After several years hard work, Touré teamed up with electronic musician and digital wizard Cyrille Dufay to develop the sound further. The result of all this experimentation, exploration and hard graft is 'Diam'.

The songs on the album tell of Touré's life, of the people around him and of the world in general. He sings of relationships, his family, freedom and, above all, of being positive when times are hard. It is perfectly fitting then that the title, 'Diam', means peace, something that Touré has looked for throughout his life.

Source: http://www.realworldrecords.com/dabytoure/?section=aboutdaby

Emma
Daby Touré Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dougeul fi diaralni guenelni
Diarl fi ak fe
Tonight 'til over the night

Bi ak bi sou de ni defal ne
Lene ak lene
Tonight 'til over the night

Let me be, let me see
Let me be, let me korounight
Tonight 'til over the night

Bi ak bi sou de ni defal ne
Lene ak lene
Tonight 'til over the night

Yanguimay yebou fi waye mane
Lou ler la le ladj
'Til over the night

Dougeul fi diaralni guenelni
Diarl fi ak fe
Tonight 'til over the night

Bi ak bi sou de ni defal ne
Lene ak lene
Tonight 'til over the night

Soma della yougou sague
Iti soma nde 'til over the night

Yanguimay yebou fi waye mane
Lou ler la le ladj
Til over the night

Tonight, tonight
Evervything is gonna be

Seresou na tounka nema
Seresou na tounka sera

Seresou ni tounka nema
Seresou

Overall Meaning

Daby Touré's song Emma is a melodious rhythm with lyrics that infuse different languages like Arabic, Wolof, French, and English, representing the rich cultural diversity of the artist. The lyrics convey a deep sense of nostalgia, loss, and longing for someone or something. The song opens up with the lines, "Dougeul fi diaralni guenelni, Diarl fi ak fe, Tonight 'til over the night." These lines seem to suggest a conversation with someone or oneself, where the singer wants to let go of their past, leave their worries behind, and embark on a new journey. The words "bi ak bi sou de ni defal ne, lene ak lene" repeat several times, emphasizing the feeling of being alone or isolated.

The chorus of the song begins with the words "let me be, let me see, let me be, let me korounight, tonight 'til over the night," where the artist talks about letting their thoughts and emotions consume them, hoping to find solace through it. The lines "Yanguimay yebou fi waye mane, Lou ler la le ladj, 'Til over the night" indicate a deep connection and affection for someone, and the yearning to be reunited with them. The outro of the song repeats the phrase "seresou na tounka nema, seresou na tounka sera, seresou ni tounka nema, seresou," concluding the song with a sense of peace and acceptance.

Line by Line Meaning

Dougeul fi diaralni guenelni
I am traveling in search of my destiny

Diarl fi ak fe
I am looking for love

Tonight 'til over the night
Tonight and until the morning comes

Bi ak bi sou de ni defal ne
This land belongs to my ancestors

Lene ak lene
Generation after generation

Let me be, let me see
Let me be free and see what life brings

Let me be, let me korounight
Let me be free until the morning comes

Yanguimay yebou fi waye mane
I am following my heart

Lou ler la le ladj
Until the end of time

Soma della yougou sague
I am a messenger of love

Iti soma nde 'til over the night
I will keep spreading love until the morning comes