Ali Farka Touré

Mali-born blues singer, songwriter and guitarist Ali ‘Farka’ Touré was one of the Africa’s best known musical exports. His knowledge of traditional Malian music and instruments came forth in his style of blues.

Touré was raised as a farmer, but at the age of 12 he made his own djerkel, a traditional single string guitar, to explore his fascination with music. The self-taught musician went on to learn other instruments in his teens. He found that learning music came naturally, and followers of the local religion Ghimbala, in which music plays an important part, considered him to be ‘gifted’, and a conduit to the spirit world.

When Mali became independent in 1960, there were positive efforts to promote Malian culture. As a gifted musician, Touré became involved in a number of different ventures and by the 70s he made frequent appearances on Mali national radio. The appearances led to a record contract and he released his self-titled debut in 1976. His steady output of traditional music came to the attention of world music DJ’s in the UK, and Touré was invited to the UK to play. Meanwhile the wider world took notice of the Ali Farka Touré album, released in 1986. With the world aware of him and his traditional blues style, he undertook a series of tours, and his records were more widely distributed. While he was doing this, he was still trying to run his farm, and despite the success of his international career, he took frequent breaks to attend to his crops.

In the mid-90s he recorded Talking Timbuktu with Ry Cooder. It won the Grammy for Best World Music Album, and it was a delighted Touré who returned to the farm for five years. In 1999 he came back with the solo effort, Niafunké. The album was named after the area he grew up, and in 2004 he was elected their mayor. Mayor Touré won a Grammy for his next release In the Heart of the Moon. It was another collaborative album, this time with African musician Toumani Diabaté. He returned to the studio rather than the farm and began work on the Savane album. At the same time as Touré was working on Savane, he was seriously ill with bone cancer. The album was finished just prior to his death and was released, posthumously, in 2006.

Touré’s son, Vieux Farka Touré has carried on in his father’s footsteps, and has his own successful music career.