I am going to take myself, and maybe you, a little out of our comfort zone for this one.
I was intrigued by this collaboration, which brings together Texan psych-funk band, Khruangbin, and Vieux Farka Touré, a Malian guitar prodigy and son of legendary Ali Farka Touré, to reconfigure a selection of Touré seniors songs.
Ali Touré was a much loved Malian guitarist who was born in a village on the Niger, in northwest Mali in 1939. His father died in 1940, fighting for the French army, and although he was one of ten sons, he was the only one to survive childhood.
Farka is a nickname that was bestowed upon him - meaning donkey - an animal admired for its stubbornness and tenacity.
He discovered the blues through the music of John Lee Hooker and fused together traditional Malian sounds with some of that blues, whilst singing in a mixture of Fulfulde, Tamasheq, Songhoy and Bamabara languages. He became known as the 'African John Lee Hooker', although he said that his music was rooted in a much older age than the blues.
Although he died in 2006, his legacy lives on through son Vieux, himself no mean guitarist, also known as the 'Hendrix of the Sahara.' The piece with Khruangbin (Laura Lee - bass; Mark Speer - guitar; Donald Johnson - drums) began in 2019, although was not completed until 2021, because of the pandemic. The variety of funk rhythms and clean, reverb-heavy guitar they use, really lends itself to these African melodies.
The notes for the album on Bandcamp say that this record, "pays homage to his father by recreating some of his most resonant work, putting new twists on it while maintaining the original's integrity. The result is a rightful ode to a legend." Vieux himself says of the album, "It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again. In the end and in a word, it is love, that's all."
Ali:
You get a real sense on the record, of two desert worlds colliding - the heat and wide open spaces you find in both Saharan Africa and much of Texas. As mentioned before, the funk rhythms that Khruangbin bring to the table (although themselves originally inspired by sounds of southeast Asia), really add to the sounds of Africa, made real by the raking arpeggios and runs that Touré fires from his guitar.
It opens with Savanne, full of haunting chimes and guitar runs that almost sound classical in nature, but full of that heavy reverb, before breaking into a slow groove over muted, distant singing punctuated by stabs of bluesy guitar. Part of the lyric translates, "Instead of giving us not just bombs, give us motor pumps so that we can still provide for our natural needs. To find life and knowledge and wisdom."
Lobbo is all mellow organ chords and intricate guitar, while Diarabi starts vibrantly, before settling down into a slow, lazy and soothing beat.
Tongo Barra was the initial single and the one getting some airplay. If you are at all unsure about this album, this would be the entry point. It has that joyous feel that we perhaps expect from African music. The incessant guitar riff cascades off of a neat little tinny snare / bass groove. Sung in Songhoy, the spirit of the music perhaps masks a darker tone to the lyrics. There is talk of invasion (not sure if that is literal or cultural) and migration, and "Na toKala haou Sarra Mana yero Koy," apparently translates as, "To have a big mouth does not mean to have luck."
Tamalla has a subdued vocal and melancholy feel, until around two thirds of the way in, where the beat kicks in and the singing becomes more of a chant. Mahine Me seems to be the most obvious nod to the kind of blues we are familiar with. Big washes of guitar help build up the pace and intensity, creating a real foot stomper, a tune that Hooker himself would surely approve of?
A solitary drum punctuates Ali Hala Abada. A gently rolling riff creates a dreamy feel to the song, with the hum of synth, all conjuring up an air of night-time in the desert. It closes with Alakarra, another haunting tune, with more cymbals and other percussion bubbling away and the guitars sound urgent here, like they are asking questions.
Overall, this is not quite what I expected, especially having heard Tongo Barra several times before the rest of the record. The overall feel of the album is much more subdued than that song suggested, but that is not a negative. The way the two worlds of sound combine is beautiful and as is often the case, it grows on you more and more with repeated listens.
Notes:
Produced by Khruangbin & Steve Christtensen
Released on 23 September 2022
Featuring: Vieux Farka Touré, Laura Lee, Mark Speer, Donald Johnson
Score:
A gently groovy - 7.9 / 10