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Vieux Farka Touré
(Mali)
Biography
Son of the late threefold Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Touré,
Vieux Farka Touré grew up with music and with the talent of his father. Soon his talent
as a drummer and calabash player began to show, but his father was against Vieux to become a musician as he himself
had suffered a very long time before getting the acknowledgement. Ali did not want his son to have to face the same
hardships. He decided that Vieux should become a soldier instead. In secret, Vieux played along with his father's
recordings, thus pursuing his musical aspirations. In 1999, he enrolled in the Institut national des Arts (INA) in Bamako
where he found out that he would rather play the guitar and compose his own music. When he left the INA, he was
already an accomplished guitar player.
By that time, Toumani Diabaté had noticed his talent and asked him to play in his
accompanying band. In the following years, he toured with Toumani's band in France and South Africa, and even
accompanied his father at occasions.
In 2005, Vieux contacted his friend Eric Herman, a North American musician and producer with whom Vieux had played while he was a student at the INA in Bamako. They both estimated that it was time for Vieux to record a first album. Toumani Diabaté participated in the recording of a few songs, and more remarkably, also Vieux's father Ali Farka Touré, then already increasingly ill, contributed to the album, thus eventually showing his approval of Vieux's choice for a music career. Other contributors are star-n'goni player Bassekou Kouyaté, Seckou Touré, and younger talents such as vocalist Issa Bamba, Mahamadou Kone and Adama Diarra.
The debut album is one the one hand very much a passing of the torch from father to son, but on the other hand also shows a style of its own, as the northern Malian blues is mixed with influences of rock and reggae.
In 2005, Vieux contacted his friend Eric Herman, a North American musician and producer with whom Vieux had played while he was a student at the INA in Bamako. They both estimated that it was time for Vieux to record a first album. Toumani Diabaté participated in the recording of a few songs, and more remarkably, also Vieux's father Ali Farka Touré, then already increasingly ill, contributed to the album, thus eventually showing his approval of Vieux's choice for a music career. Other contributors are star-n'goni player Bassekou Kouyaté, Seckou Touré, and younger talents such as vocalist Issa Bamba, Mahamadou Kone and Adama Diarra.
The debut album is one the one hand very much a passing of the torch from father to son, but on the other hand also shows a style of its own, as the northern Malian blues is mixed with influences of rock and reggae.
Vieux Farka Touré
Some musicians on the self-titled debut album (2007)
Vieux Farka Touré: electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, calabash, percussion
Toumani Diabaté: kora (6, 10)
Ali Farka Touré: guitar (3, 7)
Bassekou Kouyaté: n'goni
Issa Bamba: vocals (9)
Seckou Touré: vocals
Mamadou Fofana: bass guitar, flute
Adama Diarra: djembe
Tim Keiper: drums, percussion
Hassey Sarré: njarka (spike fiddle)
Mahamadou Koné: tama (talking drum)
Princesse Prisca Benita: backing vocals
Alou Coulibaly: calabash
Eric Herman: guitar, bass guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, percussion
Born: as Boureïma Touré
Style: Songhaï blues
Discography
Vieux Farka Touré: electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, calabash, percussion
Toumani Diabaté: kora (6, 10)
Ali Farka Touré: guitar (3, 7)
Bassekou Kouyaté: n'goni
Issa Bamba: vocals (9)
Seckou Touré: vocals
Mamadou Fofana: bass guitar, flute
Adama Diarra: djembe
Tim Keiper: drums, percussion
Hassey Sarré: njarka (spike fiddle)
Mahamadou Koné: tama (talking drum)
Princesse Prisca Benita: backing vocals
Alou Coulibaly: calabash
Eric Herman: guitar, bass guitar, vocals, glockenspiel, percussion
Born: as Boureïma Touré
Style: Songhaï blues
Discography
| Title | Year | Label | Remarks |
| Les racines | 2022 | World Circuit WCD103 | CD / LP / Digital release |
| Samba | 2017 | Six Degrees Records | CD / Digital release |
| Touristes | 2015 | Six Degrees Records | Album by Vieux Farka Touré & Julia Easterlin |
| Mon pays | 2013 | Six Degrees Records | CD / Digital release |
| The Secret | 2011 | Six Degrees Records | |
| Live | 2010 | Six Degrees Records | CD / Digital release |
| Fondo | 2009 | Six Degrees Records | CD |
| Remixed: UFOs over Bamako | 2007 | Modiba Productions MP005 | CD |
| Vieux Farka Toure | 2007 | Modiba Productions / World Village 468065 | CD |
Sources
www.vieuxfarkatoure.com [external link]
www.worldvillagemusic.com [outdated link]
View video clips at the Modiba channel on Youtube.com [external link]
www.vieuxfarkatoure.com [external link]
www.worldvillagemusic.com [outdated link]
View video clips at the Modiba channel on Youtube.com [external link]
Page added February 2007