Mali blues scion Vieux Farka Touré bridged worlds when he collaborated with Houston mystics Khruangbin on a full-length tribute to the guitarist’s late father, shredder Ali Farka Touré. Like Les Racines, Vieux’s first release of 2022, Ali stills and stings: drone, nuance, metaphysics. – Raoul Hernandez
Austin Chronicle: How did the Khruangbin collaboration come about?
Vieux Farka Touré: Really naturally. My manager Eric Herman suggested recording Ali’s songs with an American band and he suggested Khruangbin first. I was able to see them perform in London and talk about the album. Then we scheduled studio time in Houston and got to work. They’re really genuine people that care a lot about music.
AC: Given your experience here, how are Texas and Mali similar/dissimilar?
VFT: The environment: lots of sun and open spaces. Texans are friendly, straightforward people, which I like a lot. Music is an important part of life in Mali and in Texas, though Mali doesn’t have the technology and infrastructure of Texas.
AC: Les Racines resonates physically, palpably. What goals did you set for it?
VFT: My previous albums had a lot of influences and this time I wanted to make a truly traditional Malian album. I started writing before COVID, [but] began recording right at the start of the pandemic, so everything was recorded at my home studio in Bamako. Usually I wouldn’t have so much time to work on the arrangements and experiment, but because I was home and not touring, I spent a lot of time on Les Racines. I’m really happy with how it came out.
AC: What did the guitar give mankind?
VFT: It’s amazing to see all the different ways people play it. I use the guitar to help the people of Mali be together as one. Just like Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, and B.B. King used their guitars to tell their stories.
AC: They call Austin the live music capital of the world, but you’ve seen the world. What are the best music cities and why?
VFT: That’s a tough question! London has some amazing venues and musicians. Every town or city in Mali is a great music city because music is such an important part of life here. I recently toured in India and had amazing audiences there, so I’ll put Mumbai on my list. New Orleans has a lot of talented musicians and history. Austin is definitely a great music city!
Vieux Farka Touré plays Austin Psych Fest at the Far Out Lounge on Sunday, April 30, at 4:20pm.
Austin Psych Fest – launched in 2008 by the local festival- and vinyl-presenting team that evolved to become Levitation in 2015 – makes a notable springtime comeback April 28-30. Held for the first time at South Austin’s spacious Far Out Lounge, headliners include Toro y Moi, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Cuco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Yves Tumor, and event co-founders the Black Angels playing 2008 breakout Directions to See a Ghost. The festival released more tickets yesterday, freeing up both daily ($88) and weekend ($223) passes at levitation.fm.
This article appears in April 21 • 2023.
