By: Mike Madavi
Artist: Vieux Farka Touré
Title: Fondo
Label: Six Degrees Records
Genre: World : African
Release Date: 5/26/09
UPC: 657036115828
Territory: World
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how some of our favorite genres evolved into the styles we recognize today. Many country fans overlook that artists like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton learned their chord progressions and basic musical elements from gospel music. Hip Hop fans often discount the influence of Jamaican toasting on the whole idea of stylized speaking. Another genre with a rich history that’s key to understanding the musical style as a whole is the blues. Passionate and complicated, the blues has infected listeners for nearly a century. Often thought to be a purely American art form, many blues fans fail to take in the African homeland’s influence on the passionate and widely loved genre. The original delta blues were birthed from a combination of field worker songs and African musical origins. While we may not have recordings that date back far enough to truly trace this evolution, contemporary artists such as Vieux Farka Touré, son of the celebrated and recently passed on Ali Farka Touré, remind us of those roots.
Vieux’s father was one of the most famous Malian musicians ever, gaining critical and political respect as he traveled as an ambassador for his country and musical stylings (he was often called the African John Lee Hooker). While being the son of such an important and loved figure may be a daunting prospect, Vieux has managed to find success on his own while still nodding to the influence his father had on his music. Together their musical linage traces back where exactly the blues came from. They literally form the bridge between African roots music and the early field recordings of delta artists. You can hear the same chord patterns and basic riffs that have become institutionalized in American blues standards, but given an African feel as the percussion and vocals are distinctly theirs. This is wonderful world music: accessible, full of culture, and not alienating to a western listener, as it’s a major part of our musical landscape.
Fondo, or “The Road”, is Vieux’s new album on world music-based but eclectic Six Degrees Records. This record is a fantastic sampling of all his influences, ranging from sweet, soulful traditional African numbers to blues songs that feel extremely close to home. “Fafa” highlight’s Vieux’s lightning fast finger picking technique (this guy is really good at pull-off’s and hammer-on’s) with soothing traditional African vocals. It feels like sitting in the shade of a tree with Touré on a hot day and relaxing while he plays for you, really pleasant. “Souba Souba” shows exactly how close his music gets to traditional American blues while still remaining distinctly Malian. You can hear the unique passion of the homeland truly applied to its more westernized cousin. “Sarama” is a happy medium between the blues and Malian rock with an upbeat rhythm section that you can’t help but bob your head to. His skill as a guitarist is, like his father, extremely formidable and he plays with a style that any blues aficionado should check out if for nothing else than its uniqueness.
Passionate, cultural, and highly original, Fondo is not to be missed. Go back to Africa and renew your understanding of the blues!
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