Dim lights. Accents previously unheard. A generous helping of faces from places unknown. Rows of colourful concoctions travelling undisturbed on trays. A flurry of expensive clothes and shiny shoes. Then, they come and set up stage. And he sings. The silkiness of the Kora reminds me of the legacy. The mesmerizing voice is fresh and baritone. It is that moment when comely ladies and debonair gents get up and dance. This must be NYC. This must be Vieux Farke Toure.
Life’s unfair if you have to carry the torch of legendary parents, but Vieux sizes up decently. Vieux Farka Toure is the sparkling legacy of one of the greatest musicians of our time and perhaps West Africa’s most popular musical name. Similar to his tenacious Dad (which earned him the moniker of “Farka”, which means “Donkey” in Songhai), Vieux (meaning “Old” in Francais) stood against his Dad’s wishes of pursuing a military career and instead took to jamming with his Dad’s records secretly. A wise decision, but sadly his father was not alive to hear his first album. Vieux experiments with electronica and desert blues. Vieux is the new french-speaking voice of traditional Mali.
The good father, Ali Farka Toure is worlds apart — a world closer to Mali than Memphis. His hypnotising Blues scales and soulful voice in Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq, or Bambara transcend boundaries and language barriers. Toure collaborated with Toumani Diabate (oh, that will have to wait) in “In the Heart of the Moon”, and Ry Cooder in “Talking Timbuktu”, two albums that always leave me spellbound. Without further ado, find the files below.
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Mamadou Boutiquer, from the album In the Heart of the Moon
Buy it from Amazon |
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Diaraby, from the album Talking Timbuktu
[Audio http://www.ics.uci.edu/~nsambasi/diaraby.mp3%5D Buy it from Amazon |
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Courage, from the album UFOs over Bamako by Vieux Farka Toure Buy from Amazon Listen at Rhapsody |
~ posted by nithya
anticoda 
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