Vieux Farka Touré

Boureima " Vieux " Farka Touré ( born 1981 in Niafunké, Mali ) is a Malian singer and guitarist who combines the traditional music of his homeland with influences of Western music. He is a son of the famous Malian musician Ali Farka Touré.

In addition to his father and famous Malian musicians from the environment he calls inter alia Salif Keïta and American bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker and BB King as major musical influences of his youth.

Childhood and beginnings as a musician

Vieux Farka Touré was born as one of the twelve children of the two -time Grammy winner Ali Farka Touré in Niafunké in central Mali. However, he grew up in the Mopti region in the first younger brother of his father in Youwarou. With about 12 years, he moved to the school in Niafunké and remained there until the ninth grade. In contrast to his eight brothers - only one sister is also a professional musician - he also turned to the music; would initially against the express wishes of his father, warning him of the problems of a career as a musician and would rather see him as a soldier. Vieux convinced his father, however, and he began in 1994 as a percussionist in the band of singer and guitarist Afel Bocoum, a musical companions of his father. At the age of 18 he wrote in 1999 for four years at the Institut National des Arts ( INA) in the Malian capital Bamako in order to study guitar, the instrument through which his father became famous.

After graduating, he collected, at the urging of his father, international experience as a tour musician in the band of the famous kora player Toumani Diabaté, Ali Farka Touré's a good friend. From this to Vieux, who comes from a family settled Songhai, instruct kora in the game and in the musical traditions of the Mande culture.

Solo career

In 2005 he came again into contact with the Canadian music producer Eric Herman, the Vieux had met 2 years ago when he was still the INA visited. They agreed to work that resulted in the production of Vieux Farka Touré 's debut album. This was first published in October 2006 on the Internet, then in February 2007 as a CD. It contains, inter alia, two pieces, Toumani Diabaté on which has worked and two songs, then diseased father are created in collaboration with Vieux ' already severe and the last Ali Farka Touré's recordings were before his death in March 2006. The pieces were recorded in the famous Studio Bogolan in Bamako, in which Damon Albarn, Björk, Keziah Jones and Youssou N'Dour has also recorded and mixed by Eric Herman, who also played various instruments in the recordings.

As recently as 2007 appeared Remixed - UFOs Over Bamako, a CD with remixes and trance versions of the songs of Touré's debut album, also produced by Herman. It looked professional DJs and producers such as Nickodemus, Karsh Kale and Yossi Fine with, but the album also includes two remixes of the song Ana, which originated in an official competition of the record label Modiba and to which Toure the audio track under a Creative Commons license available set.

Debut album and remix album was recorded worldwide benevolent of music journalists and critics. "Strong influences of Malian music are unmistakable and will sometimes feel like remembering the distinctive guitar work of his father, but Touré would present his own style of the classic Malian " beat Desert Blues " a bridge to Western forms of music like reggae, rock and funk would, " stated Jeff Tamarkin by All Music Guide.

It was followed by appearances in Africa, Europe and North America, including at the WOMAD Festival, where he won a reputation as a live musician. His shows are influenced by variations in the pieces of his studio CDs that often develop into trance-like jam sessions to live.

As a result, Touré joined the world music label Six Degrees Records. His second studio album, Fondo rose in 2009 at # 5 on the Billboard charts in the category Best World Music Album. This time acquired Afel Boucoum, in whose band Touré began his career, the vocal parts of three songs, including the interpretation of a traditional Malian song titled Walé that comes from the region of Timbuktu. All the other songs were written by Touré himself. Toumani Diabaté is also once again be heard in the song Paradise in the complement Touré's guitar and Diabates Koraspiel skillfully. The album was recorded in November 2008 in Bamako and in January 2009 in California and produced by Toure and Yossi Fine and mixed. Again a remix version of the album with different DJs was produced, which was published in December 2009 as a pure MP3 Album.

2010 appeared Touré's first live album, on the next songs by Fondo he presented some new songs.

His biggest TV appearance Vieux Farka Touré had at the opening concert of the Football World Cup 2010 on 10 June 2010 in South Africa, in which he played the songs Fafa and Diaraby Magni his album Fondo and was broadcast in over 192 countries.

Discography

• Vieux Farka Touré (2006, Modiba / World Village )
• Remixed - UFOs Over Bamako (2007, Modiba )
• Fondo (2009, Six Degrees Records)
• Other Roads: Fondo Remixed (2009, as an MP3 album on Six Degrees Records)
• Live (2010, Six Degrees Records)
• The Secret (2011, Six Degrees Records)