About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2011)
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Clayton Street Athens, GA 30601 • 912-604 8560 offering: The Best from the Lowcountrv | Champagne Brunch * Saturday & Sunday ^ with s 2 Mimosas & "3 Bloody Mans iiam-3pm Saturday • i2:30-3pm Sunday ALWAYS *8 DOZEN when available Hfippy HOUR Monday-Friday 4-7pm s 2 Domestics • s 4 House Wine s 2 House Champagne Every 7 Monday $ 3 Martinis Featuring 360 Vodka live: music Every Wednesday 6pm Wednesday, August 31 RACHEL O’NEAL Wednesday, September 7 HANDS OF TIME Open at 4pm Mon-Fri at tiam Sat & Sun By the Ix>op Next to Tall Boy Beverage Co. 2095 S. Milledge Avc. 706-548-3359 \ ARTIST ARTIST Local Musician Adam Klein on Malian Artist Vieux Farka Toure M usician and songwriter Vieux Farka Toure is a true son of his homelands. Hailing from the Mopti region of Mali in West Africa, which has long served as a meeting point and intersection of numerous ethnic groups (including the desert Tuareg, Bambara, Dogon and nomadic Fulani, or Peul herds-people), Toure's music blends styles and ages, setting driving electric rock, blues and even funk against a backdrop of traditional instrumentation and sounds. His new record and third studio album. The Secret (Six Degree Records), is an important achievement for the young artist and a daz zling collection of the finest of the desert blues and Mande music of southern Mali. The record features a number of collaborations with prominent American musicians including guitarist Derek Trucks, singer/songwriter Dave Matthews, jazz guitarist John Scofield and producer Eric Krasno of Soulive. But the heaviest hitter of all is the most subtle. An ailing Ali Farka Toure, Vieux's father and celebrated pioneer of Mali's desert blues, joins his son on their final collaboration, the title track “The Secret." The looping interplay of the Toures' guitars, pulsing beat, warm flute and low-in-the-mix, jumping ngoni lute, cap tures the quintessential style and sound which has brought worldwide attention, acclaim and interest to the music of Mali's delta. Athens-based singer/songwriter Adam Klein, who recorded an album of original Mande songs in Bamako, Mali in early 2010 and produced a making-of-the-record docu mentary film, both currently unreleased, spoke with Vieux about his work, Malian music, the community of the north desert blues bands, politics and more in a choppy conversation mixing French and Bambara. Adam Klein: What is the significance of Malian music? Vieux Farka Toure: We have a grand cul ture here. Our culture is vast. You can make a lot of music here. We make it and make it until... it doesn't end [laughs]. The music has many different subjects. AK: Why do you think it translates and resonates so well with European and North American audiences? VFT: Because what we say in our music is very important. We don't sing about junk. When we sing a song, we sing real songs. We give advice. Our music is like school. AK: Your music has served as a bridge, balancing traditional and modern sounds, chan neling the music of your people's past into new sonic territory. You come from the North, from Niafunke, from the Sonrai tradition... VFT: Yes, I sing in Sonrai, Bambara, Peul [ethnic groups/languages in Mali]. AK: You create a blend of all these musical traditions in your music... VFT: Voila. Because I represent the North in person. I even represent all of Africa. AK: How does The Secret break new ground or further advance your sound? VFT: I've placed all types of [Malian] tradi tional music in The Secret, just like in Fondo. When you make an album... Fondo, it's not something that began overnight. It started much earlier. There are things on it that I started four or five years ago. It tock time to prepare. The time to prepare, the time to make it good, have good ideas, have good words, that's the difference between Fondo and this album. AK: What was it like recording both in Bamako and Brooklyn? What basic tracks did you record in Bamako? What was added in Brooklyn? VFT: There are plenty of instruments in Bamako, like ngoni, which I can't find in Brooklyn. In Brooklyn we mixed, added some sounds; that's it. AK: How has being a percussionist helped to enhance your guitar playing and song production? VFT: The drums aid many things. Drums stabilize the music. They set the time well. So, if you play drums and then learn guitar, you unde- tand the rhythm and it keeps you from having a problem. AK: You have always featured collaborations in your recordings, sometimes surprising ones. What draws you to these collaborators, and what was it like working with these musicians? VFT: It gives you an opportunity to [learn about] the music of the world. It gives you a lot of experience if you live with people much older than you and if you work with people who know more music than yourself. AK: What is the meaning, for you, of your father’s legacy? VFT: It's everything for me because he's the one who brought me into the world. That's clear. It's my very own music. I'm just con tinuing what he has done. It's very important for Ali Farka to have a successor who can con tinue his work. AK: What are your thoughts about the sus tainable development in Mali at this time? VFT: Really... that's a question about the politics of Mali. Truthfully, I don't really know all about these things. But I know that Mali is developing a lot—very, very quickly. It's the most peaceful country in this area at least, that's for sure. But the unemployment rate is very high. AK: The lyrics to "All the Same" and "Watch Out" seem to speak of international travelers to Mali who visit for a brief period, become enamored by the romance and simplicity of village life, express love for the people and cul ture, make unfulfilled promises and then simply depart. These foreigners are "all the same" and they're therefor "diamonds" and "gold,”you sing. You warn Malians to be "careful" of those who come and go. Can you elaborate on this? VFT: It's not [a message] only for Mali. It's for Africa. It's something between Africa and Europe, U.S.A., everywhere. Because there are many people that come to our place and say we have many problems: there's war, don't go to Africa, there's this and that... I've found that this is not normal. So, that's what I'm saying. But the people who say "there's always war," "Africa is bad"—they're the ones that come here all the time. It's not good. I said that we, all people, should be united, and we should respect each other. AK: The music of bands like Tinariwen, Tamikrest and other Tuareg music groups emerged from either refugee camps or extremely remote communities and have been politically charged against Mali's government. Do you con nect with their messages? Their lyrics have been quite political... VFT: Yeah, that's right; that's politics. But I don't do that because it's none of my busi ness. I sing for my society, for the people, you see, but I don't do politics. AK: What can the audience expect at your Georgia Theatre show? VFT: It's a surprise. You won't know until I'm there. Aihm Klein Read the interview in its entirety at Flagpole.com. WHO: Vieux Farka Tourd, Grogus, A Thousand Suns [film screening] WHERE: Georgia Theatre WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 4,7 p.rn. HOW MUCH: $12 V -• ) 14 FLAGPOLE.COM. AUGUST 31, 2011
