R.I.P. Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté, 1965-2024

Sadly, self-taught Malian kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté has passed away far too soon at the age of 58. He'll be greatly missed.

Mali's Vieux Farka Touré hits Quebec on July 6-7

Vieux Farka Touré presents his new band at Montreal's Club Soda on Saturday (July 6) and FEQ in Quebec City on Sunday (July 7).

You can get tickets for all of Vieux Farka Touré's upcoming dates from his site right here: https://www.vieuxfarkatoure.com/tour.

That time Malian blues great Ali Farka Touré played Later... with Jools Holland

Here's the late great Ali Farka Touré – who passed away in 2006 – performing "Diaraby," a Manding song of lost love.

Previously unheard Ali Farka Touré music uncovered for Voyageur album

The songs on Voyageur were recorded by Ali Farka Touré over a 15 year period and include 3 tracks with Oumou Sangaré.

 

Here's the scoop...

‘Voyageur’, the new album from the legendary African guitarist and singer Ali Farka Touré, will be released by World Circuit Records on 10th March. It is the first release of unheard Touré material since 2010’s posthumous Grammy-winning ‘Ali & Toumani’, and features a collection of gems captured at various points in Ali’s illustrious career. The album, which features fellow Malian superstar Oumou Sangaré on 3 tracks, reaffirms Ali’s status as a globally revered legend of African music. Produced by World Circuit’s Nick Gold with Ali’s son Vieux Farka Touré, ‘Voyageur’ will be available on 180G vinyl, CD and digitally – pre-order it right here. ‘Safari’, the first track to be taken from the album, is available now. Watch the clip below.

No African musician has made an impact at home and on the international imagination like the great Malian guitarist, singer and spiritual father of the Desert Blues, Ali Farka Touré. From Grammy-winning collaborations with Ry Cooder and kora maestro Toumani Diabaté to gritty lo-fi recordings made in his remote home village, Ali’s inimitable voice and hypnotic guitar playing communicates with listeners with an authority that transcends boundaries of markets, fashions and genres. Sixteen years on from his death, Ali remains a towering figure, one of a handful of great talents – alongside Jimi Hendrix and Fela Kuti – whose music feels perennially vital and relevant, whose charisma burns as brightly after their passing as it did in life. 

Ali’s mystique shines on brightly, inspiring listeners around the world and a host of illustrious admirers, including Robert Plant, actor Matthew McConaughey, who based his famous humming chant in the Wolf of Wall Street on one of Ali’s rhythms, and Texas indie-rockers Khruangbin, who recently recorded a collection of Ali’s songs in company with his son Vieux. 

Captured spontaneously over the course of 15 years, on the road and in the studio between sessions for other albums, the songs on ‘Voyageur’ were all of immense personal importance to Ali. They reflect his passionate commitment to the creativity and cultural diversity of his homeland, and a life spent in motion, as a traveller – a Voyageur – between the desert stages of Timbuktu, studios of West Hollywood, the concert halls of London and Tokyo, and tiny villages strung out on the Malian riverside, where Ali was – of course – known by everyone.

From pared back, mesmeric grooves in Ali's signature Sonrhaï style to anthemic fishermen's choruses, pulsing hunters' rhythms and an African “noise band” of reverb-laden guitars and lutes (‘Kombo Galia’), ‘Voyageur’ showcases a secret store of songs which Ali built up through his long and varied career, shedding new light on an extraordinary and enigmatic talent. Check out "Safari" below. 

Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin celebrate Ali Farka Touré's musical legacy

Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré has been playing with Khruangbin to promote 'Ali' their tribute to Ali Farka Touré out now.

Here's the scoop...

Khruangbin and Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré recently shared “Tongo Barra” from their new collaborative album Ali honouring Vieux’s late father, the great Ali Farka  Touré, released via Dead Oceans in partnership with Night Time Stories Ltd. “Tongo Barra” is an engrossing, nearly six-minute cornerstone of Ali sung in the Malian Songhai dialect. Check the clip below.  

Already Ali has established itself as one of the most anticipated releases of the pairing’s celebrated careers, with the track “Savanne” earning widespread acclaim upon release, leading NPR Music to praise its “labyrinthine fusion of dub, blues and Malian grooves,” calling it “hypnotic” on an episode of All Songs Considered, naming it a top tune on their #NowPlaying column. Listen to "Savanne" below. 

The resulting eight songs on Ali are a rightful ode to a legend, a refreshed West African blend of musical reference the pairing hopes reaches new generations and audiences alike. The album will be released the day after Republic Day, Mali’s National holiday commemorating the independence of the Republic of Mali from the Mali Federation on September 22nd, 1960. 

Ali, as GQ puts it, “expands Khruangbin’s sound into blues territory with a hint of West African palm wine music. It’s more pulsing and energetic. You can zone out and cut a rug.” “First they pull you in. Then they make you float….,” they continue. 

Recently the pairing played a sold-out show in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on one of the hottest days of the year. Watch their performance of "Mahine Me" below. 

With each new project both Khruangbin and Vieux broaden their horizons, embrace new challenges and further entrench their shared reputation as some of the world’s most talented and innovative musicians. This June, Vieux released his latest album Les Racines in which he masterfully returns to the deep roots of the Desert Blues music that his father introduced to the world and writes of his country’s overlapping security, political, and humanitarian crises. 

In February, Khruangbin released their second collaborative EP with soul singer Leon Bridges, the sultry, chart-topping Texas Moon, which garnered widespread critical acclaim and pushed the boundaries of R&B sound.

Cover art based on the original work ”Homme Du Sahel” by Abdoulaye Konaté, 2015. Courtesy of Primo Marella Gallery, Milan. 

Ali - Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin 

Savanne

Lobbo

Diarabi

Tongo Barra

Tamalla

Mahine Me

Ali Hala Abada

Alakarra

 

You can get a copy of Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin's new Ali album via your platform of choice right here https://deadoc.co/ali-album. Watch their performance of "Diarabi" in Santa Fe followed by the full album below. Read Nick Millevoi's story about the collaboration in Premier Guitar's November issue right here. 

 

Musicians from Mali salute Ali Farka Touré with "Howkouna" collaboration

Watch the animated clip for "Howkouna" following Ali Farka Touré's original version for his Niafunke album. 

Watch Ali Farka Touré perform "Savane" in Brussels

Ali Farka Touré's Savane album – featuring Bassekou Kouyate & Mama Sissoko – has just been reissued on vinyl by World Circuit. 

Vieux Farka Touré & Idan Raichel light up Koerner Hall, Friday

The Malian guitarist and Israeli keyboardist recently issued their second studio collabo, The Paris Session.