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Ali Farka Touré
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Kanau, Mali (1939 – 2006)
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré (1939-2006) was a malian singer and guitarist born in Kanau, Mali, Africa. His music is at the crossroad of traditional malian music (one of the main roots of contemporary North American blues) and modern feedback influences from North American and English blues.
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was born in 1939 (he did not know the exact date of birth) in the Muslim village of Kanau, near Gourma Rharous, on the banks of the Niger River, in the northwestern Malian region of Tombouctou. He was the tenth son of his mother but the only one to survive past infancy. “The name I was given was Ali Ibrahim, but it’s a custom in Africa to give a child a strange nickname if you have had other children who have died,” Touré was quoted as saying in a biography on his Record Label, World Circuit Records. His nickname, “Farka”, chosen by his parents, means “donkey” - an animal admired for its tenacity and stubbornness. “Let me make one thing clear. I’m the donkey that nobody climbs on!” He was descended from the ancient military force known as the Arma, and was ethnically tied to the Songrai (Songhai) and Peul peoples of northern Mali.
As the first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity on his home continent, Touré was often known as “the African John Lee Hooker”. Musically, the many superpositions of guitars and rhythms in his music were similar to R. L. Burnside’s hypnotic blues style. He usually sang in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, or Tamasheq, as on his breakthrough album, Ali Farka Touré, which established his reputation in the world music community.
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was born in 1939 (he did not know the exact date of birth) in the Muslim village of Kanau, near Gourma Rharous, on the banks of the Niger River, in the northwestern Malian region of Tombouctou. He was the tenth son of his mother but the only one to survive past infancy. “The name I was given was Ali Ibrahim, but it’s a custom in Africa to give a child a strange nickname if you have had other children who have died,” Touré was quoted as saying in a biography on his Record Label, World Circuit Records. His nickname, “Farka”, chosen by his parents, means “donkey” - an animal admired for its tenacity and stubbornness. “Let me make one thing clear. I’m the donkey that nobody climbs on!” He was descended from the ancient military force known as the Arma, and was ethnically tied to the Songrai (Songhai) and Peul peoples of northern Mali.
As the first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity on his home continent, Touré was often known as “the African John Lee Hooker”. Musically, the many superpositions of guitars and rhythms in his music were similar to R. L. Burnside’s hypnotic blues style. He usually sang in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, or Tamasheq, as on his breakthrough album, Ali Farka Touré, which established his reputation in the world music community.
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Niafunke
Ali Farka Touré
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Savane
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The Source
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The River
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Shoutbox
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bantunani wrote:
Hi, I Just want to introduce you to the nu-rumba from Bantunani http://www.lastfm.fr/music/Bantunani Awesome Afrogroove..listen the hit Blackninja
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Gradouble wrote:
nice
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Sunzy wrote:
Mmm... Beautiful sounds.
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ragga_jungle wrote:
groove
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AdoreLeNoir wrote:
The John Lee hooker of the desert!
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GHELIX wrote:
:)
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Prince-Marolo wrote:
Wish I'd had the chance to see him live. I love 'Radio Mali' because it's so raw and unprocessed. It really is an album that i kep coming back to again and again
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thaeasy wrote:
omg, i've just met his music and i'm amused, amazed, thrilled... it's just wonderful!
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aymarita wrote:
music reduced to its pure essence, beautiful
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sleepycelina wrote:
a god!!! and i cant believe that i miss him in lisbon..
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Sparkynotto-be wrote:
A legend, a true musician
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StevePL wrote:
good
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aridinis wrote:
I went to one of his concerts, it was spectacular. From that day on, I bought loads of cd’s and have been delighted by his work.
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liberesumente wrote:
This guy is truly talented, and for him to reach out to blues across an ocean like that ...very nice
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sameersingh wrote:
support malian music, join http://www.last.fm/group/Malian+Music!
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dRjB7-23 wrote:
Amazing
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TippinMyStuff wrote:
wot a music man SPECIAL
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eleseus wrote:
diaraby is great
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X__Truthiness wrote:
Ai Du is an awesome song!
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roomx wrote:
again, again this rocks sooooooooooooooo f... much.
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Recent Activity
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evokateur tagged Ali Farka Touré with ‘hmm’. 4 hours ago
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evokateur, meineesma, apegjuapgdjagp and 3 other people added Ali Farka Touré to their libraries. 4 hours ago
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lasegue tagged Ali Farka Touré with african and world. yesterday morning
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lasegue, S_o_o_t_y, Ravioso61 and 5 other people added Ali Farka Touré to their libraries. yesterday morning
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carot87 tagged Ali Farka Touré with ‘african’. Sunday evening
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Borrelnoot and R0yston added Ali Farka Touré to their libraries. Sunday evening
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visualgrl11 tagged Ali Farka Touré with singer-songwriter, things i would like to hear more of and worldbeat. Sunday afternoon
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barosmota, mutterschoss, leotrujillocox and 3 other people added Ali Farka Touré to their libraries. Sunday afternoon
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camel05 tagged Ali Farka Touré with ‘bj’. Friday evening
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