National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

It seems ironic that a musician would want his son to steer clear of music as a career. Then again, legendary Malian guitarist-vocalist Ali Farka Touré knew how tough the artist's path was, and so he ordered his son Vieux to look elsewhere. In quiet Vieux sharpened his chops, and at the biding of a close family friend, the inimitable kora player Toumani Diabate, Vieux declared music as his career. When his self-titled debut was released on Modiba records in 2006, it was bittersweet: the boy had become his own man, yet that album would be the recording his father ever played on, succumbing to bone cancer shortly thereafter.

With the release of Fondo (Six Degrees), earlier this year, Vieux has again proven himself his own musician. The comparisons to his famous father may never stop, but those well-meaning homages are not necessarily representative of Vieux's actual work. Teaming with producer Yossi Fine (Ex-Centric Sound System), Vieux's guitar playing and vocal confidence have both soared. With a hectic worldwide touring schedule and a consistently growing fanbase, his father should never have worried: Vieux has got his career path down, walking it with dignity, pride, and honor.

Nat Geo Music recently caught up with Vieux Farka Touré while he was in New York City for the summer leg of his North American tour.

Nat Geo Music: What immediately jumped out from the new album is your growth. While your debut was excellent, it seemed to lean on the Malian blues one would expect of someone of your lineage. The songwriting seems much more personal this time around. Have you felt your songwriting has grown since your debut?

Vieux Farka Touré: Well, of course the first album was my first album, so the sound is, to my ear now, pretty basic. I didn't know anything about recording when I did that album, and that was in 2005. Since then I've been on the road about eight months out of the year, and I've heard all kinds of music and met and worked with all kinds of musicians. This new album reflects that.

The slower songs are the real gems on Fondo. They are more intimate and personal than anything we've heard thus far. What is the inspiration behind "Souba Souba?"

I wrote this song on a terrace in Lisbon overlooking the river. It's a story I know well-in our society, it is still sometimes difficult for a man and a woman to marry "just" because they love each other. Sometimes, it is because they are from different ethnic backgrounds; sometimes, because one is rich and the other poor. In this case, the woman's family didn't think the groom's family was prestigious enough, so her parents told her she couldn't marry the man she loved. "Souba Souba" is all about choice; it says we all have the right to choose in life, especially the one we love.

What about "Paradise?"

I love this song. I often start my concert with it-it sort of calls my father's presence to the stage with me. We had a great time recording it... Toumani wasn't able to get to the studio at the scheduled time, so we just packed everything up and went over to his house-at two am! He is at his best in those early hours. "Paradise" was finished in his living room, by four am.

We first heard the reggae influence on your debut with "Ana." With this album, there's "Diaraby Magni." How much of an impact has reggae made in your life?

Reggae is one of my favorite musical styles. I've always listened to reggae, and love reggaeton as well. Classics like the Itals, Skatalites, Bob Marley of course. African reggae is different, and I love the mix of rhythms, like Tiken Jah Fakoly and of course Alpha Blondy. He writes incredible songs that have so much weight.

Keeping on the subject of influences, are there any other artists outside of Africa making an impact in your life?

Right now, I am touring in the States and during almost every show we have local musicians come up on stage and jam. It's been amazing. In Chicago I got to play with blues harpist Billy Branch-he's a genius. He took us to a bar in Southside where he jams every week. That was a scene! And we just played two shows with Dirty Projectors. Their harmonies are incredible, and Dave can really play that guitar. We also played with some blue grass musicians, and even a heavy metal sax player. I'm just drinking it all in right now; we'll see what comes out of it. I saw Santigold at Bonnaroo and Ani di Franco. They were great.

What about musicians local to Mali and Africa?

I think Baaba Maal is great live; he puts on a real show. Alpha Blondy, Salif Keita, and Amadou and Mariam are just brilliant. Toumani Diabate will always be a guiding light. We just played with a new band from South Africa, BlkJks-wow! They must be the next new thing. I also played with my father's old friend and my new one, Vusi Mahlasela, in Los Angeles. I love his voice, and he is a great man.

Watching the youtube video of the making of Fondo, you seem to be having a great time in the studio. As producer Yossi Fine says, people would just randomly stop inside and end up playing on the album. Has community always been part of your music making?

Oh yes, I couldn't imagine locking myself up in a closed studio and not having the energy of the presence of my friends-musicians and non-musicians-to push me. It's the way I always saw my father record in Mali.

After remixing "Ma Hine Cocore" for the remix album of your debut, Yossi Fine told me he would love to produce a full album of yours. Next thing you know, he's in Mali with you. How did that come about?

By a funny coincidence, we played the same festival in a small town in Canada (Salmon Arm) last summer. We all went to see Yossi's solo bass show and were blown away by it; he came to see our show and loved it. After, we all hung out together and talked, and well, the rest is history, as they say.

How did you find working with him as a producer?

He's great, very cool, very patient. He pretty much let me try whatever I wanted and then made subtle suggestions. It was especially nice to mix at his home studio in California and be there with his wife and kids. I think it was a really good collaborative effort.

After UFO's Over Bamako came out, you mentioned how much you liked the remixes of your work. Would you ever consider recording an album with an electronic producer?

It's hard for me to say what might happen in the future. Who knows? I barely know what might happen next week. But there are already some very cool remixes coming in from songs on Fondo that I like a lot.

How were the reactions to these remixes in Africa, and from those who have worked closely with you over the years?

Well, the CD was not released in Mali, nor anywhere else in Africa that I know of, but my musician friends all like it, and the teenage kids of my godfather too!

Your cover of "Bullet the Blue Sky" was perhaps the finest tribute on the In the Name of Love album. Were you a fan of U2 before this recording?

Thanks for the compliment! I actually don't know their music that well, but once I heard this song I knew I wanted to do a Sonhrai version of it. I do admire what Bono does as a person. I think he uses his fame well, to a good purpose.

For your current American tour, can we expect anything different from your previous trips to the States?

Live music is exactly that: live. It changes every night, with every concert, so of course this tour will be different! Come and see for yourself...