“He’s a virtuoso…a fully formed talent who’ll carry the family name far into the new century.” – BBC
“Africa’s next guitar hero.” – The Guardian
The Hendrix of the Sahara.
Vieux Farka Touré plays electrifying, hypnotic desert blues. Music that is triumphantly singular in form, in genre, in style. Unlike anything else, and part of a legendary lineage of western African musicians.
It’s such an honor and pleasure to welcome Vieux for his first-ever performances in China. He’ll be part of the 2016-17 season of Contemporale, followed by a special gig in Beijing on Sunday, 15 January 2017 at Yugong Yishan.
Hearing his soaring, intricate songs live, at once invigorating and pacifying, is one of the most distinctive musical experiences available on Earth. Vieux, who speaks 8 languages, is in so many ways truly representative of music’s ability to overcome all barriers and borders.
Vieux is the son of the legendary Grammy-award winning Mali blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006. To his father’s pioneering desert blues sound, Vieux added contemporary influences – ranging from rock’n’roll to dub – whilst staying true to his Malian roots.
Ali Farka Touré came from a historical tribe of soldiers, and defied his parents in becoming a musician. When Vieux was in his teens, he declared that he also wanted to be a musician.Vieux was initially a drummer / calabash player at Mali’s Institut National des Arts, but secretly began playing guitar in 2001. Ali Farka Touré was weakened with cancer when Vieux announced that he was going to record an album. Ali recorded a couple of tracks with him, and these recordings, which can be heard on Vieux’s debut CD, were amongst his final ones. It has been said that the senior Touré played rough mixes of these songs when people visited him in his final days, at peace with, and proud of, his son’s talent as a musician.
On Vieux’s self-titled debut album, released by World Village in 2007, he paid homage to his father and follows Ali’s musical tradition, giving new versions of the West African music that is echoed in the American blues. He also channeled his father’s activist spirit, donating part of the album’s proceeds towards programs for eradicating malaria.
On his second record, Fondo (2009), Vieux branched out and presented his own sound: using elements of rock, Latin music, and other African influences. The album received a great deal of critical acclaim from across the globe, and Vieux was clearly moving out of his father’s shadow. In 2013, his beautiful and critically acclaimed latest solo album Mon Pays was released as an homage to his homeland. His native Mali recently splintered by territorial fighting between Tuareg and Islamic rebels, Mon Pays was devoted to reminding the world about the beauty and culture of his homeland.
Vieux has since toured around the world, and collaborated with some of music’s biggest names. This will be his first time in China.
Bringing in 2017 with charm and luminous energy. Sunday, January 15 at Yugong Yishan.
Split Works Presents: Vieux Farka Touré live in Beijing
Date: Sunday, 15 January 2017
Time：8:30pm
Location: Yugong Yishan 愚公移山
Address: 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng district (北京市东城区张自忠路3-2号)
Price：100 (presale) // 150 (door)
Tickets: https://yoopay.cn/event/VFTbeijing
Links
Split Works official website：www.spli-t.com
Vieux Farka Touré’s official website: www.vieuxfarkatoure.com/
About Split Works:
Split Works has been rocking in the free (ish) world since 2006. Working with inspirational artists from across the globe, the good people at Split Works HQ have been a key contributor to the continued rise of China’s music scene.
Split Works has launched five music festivals and promoted over 400 tours to 30 Chinese cities, always striving to stay true to a familiar refrain: the music has to be special, every single time. From Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Sonic Youth, from Thee Oh Sees to Mac Demarco and Shabazz Palaces, from Black Rabbit to JUE and Wooozy to Concrete & Grass and More Music. We love music, we love China and we love you.