Vieux Farka Touré

Born in 1981 in Niafunke, Mali, a dusty town on the River Niger about 100 miles south of Timbuktu, Vieux was discouraged by his father from following in his footsteps. Fortunately he ignored paternal advice and took up the guitar, practicing in secret when his father was out of hearing. He may have been self-taught but clearly Vieux inherited something in his DNA. Eric Herman, now his manager and who co-produced Les Racines with Vieux, recalls hearing him play for the first time at the Touré household in 2003. Convinced that it was Ali playing, when he entered the room he was shocked to discover that it was Vieux. It was the first anybody knew he could play and yet Vieux already sounded like a master. His self-titled debut album appeared in 2006, and came with Ali’s stamp of approval in the form of a guest appearance, his final recordings before he died. Vieux followed with Fondo (2009); The Secret (2011); Mon Pays (2013) and Samba (2017), extending the boundaries of traditional West African music into new and uncharted territory and earning himself the nickname “the Hendrix of the Sahara”. Touring tirelessly, Vieux also became a popular fixture at prestigious venues and festivals around the world, and performed alongside Shakira and Alicia Keys at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.