It's not really that much of a stretch to say that Ali Farka Toure completely changed my musical life and direction. It all kind of started in the mid 90's, more or less a continuation of what I wrote about within the Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" entry. Around this time, after venturing into guitar based jazz and other areas, another storm was brewing internally for me: world music.
I would say that this pretty much started with my minor interest in Kitaro, someone who straddled the line between New Age and World in general. When you're really into music, one artist tends to forge a path to another, and then another, and the next thing you know you're at a doorstep that you would have never imagined. Another album that helped get me to that doorway was Peter Gabriel's "Passion" instrumental album from the late 80's, not to mention most of Gabriel's work since his third solo release. Gabriel put an incredible amount of effort into getting exposure for world music artists through both his Real World label as well as the WOMAD festivals that he put on every year and I couldn't help but take notice and gain interest.
I'm of course a huge Gabriel fan, in fact it's kind of shocking that his albums nor Genesis have shown up in this blog as of yet. When "Passion" came out, I was pretty leery that I'd ever really get into it due to the instrumental nature, and I wouldn't say that I know the album backwards and forward but I did end up listening to it pretty heavily over the following decade and it did really change my outlook on music. Gabriel then put out an album a few years later called "Passion Sources" which contained the real world music artist's music that he listened to heavily while creating the "Passion" album. It was listening to that album and around that time that I found that doorway.
Again, the Columbia House/BMG record club thing really paid off for me, and in choosing one of 12 CD's for a whole penny or whatever the deal was, I decided on one of these excursions to try an album by someone called Ali Farka Toure with none other than Ry Cooder, the album being called "Talking Timbuktu". This is great example of that path forging I mentioned because the only reason I decided to order this was the inclusion of Ry Cooder, and a guy I worked with at the time was always telling me how amazing Cooder was in general, which first led me to grabbing the Buena Vista Social Club album and really liking it. I actually argued internally over whether "Talking Timbuktu" should be listed here or "Niafunke" since they were both very significant for me but I chose the latter because this is the one that really cemented my love of world and African music specifically. "Talking Timbuktu" was fantastic but I kind of saw it as a bit of a novelty at first, and even though I listened to it a ton, I really wasn't sure that it would lead me anywhere.
And then, a year or so later the Amazon website revolution came and everything changed. Suddenly, music you could never find or even knew existed was at your fingertips. I was digging through the website at work one day and I somehow stumbled upon a new Ali Farka Toure album that had just come out called "NiaFunke". I think I thought about it for a whole 2 seconds and promptly purchased it, although I couldn't help but wonder if I was losing my mind due to my internal excitement over getting it.
I still remember receiving it in the mail, and it may have literally been one of my very first Amazon purchases, finding the whole thing both bizarre and enticing since Amazon was literally a brand new thing to me then. I mean, all of sudden you could get your hands on music from anywhere in the world and have it delivered directly to your door! It was revolutionary! But, the real reward was opening up the World Circuit Records packing, with the thick cardboard outer sleeve, and putting the CD in for the very first time.
I turned the lights down low like I always did, pressed play, and I think literally the first 5 notes of the album made my jaw drop. What the hell is that sound on the guitar?! Well, I know what it is now like the back of my hand since I use it all the time...it's an octave pedal. But, what was Farka Toure doing with it?! I had never heard anyone play a guitar quite like this. I mean, the bluesy African riffs in the opening track "Ali's Here" are simply to die for. And, once the percussion comes in and the singing starts, the wildly syncopated chaotic sounding rhythm just takes you over and enchants like nothing else. It was without any doubt instant love for me.
Track 2, "Allah Uya", was another instant classic, and soon the entire album because so heavily played in my household that I'm pretty sure I terrified my neighbors at the time. I was basically attempting to sing in a language that I didn't understand a single word of but simply followed along to phonetically and at the top of my lungs on a nightly basis (I should really figure out who my neighbors were and sincerely apologize). I couldn't help it; the music was completely intoxicating.
"Niafunke" was my pick for best album from 1999/2000 and kicked off the most in depth run of music I've ever done, literally an entire decade plus a few more years of almost nothing but world sounds and African music. I grabbed every album I could possibly get my hands on. I felt like I traveled the globe and yet never left the house. The music is to die for, truly beyond words, and even though I've returned to the realms of jazz and rock mainly these days over world sounds, I feel like my world music journey is simply a huge part of my life that I would never trade for anything. Most of my friends thought I was crazy; others thought I had lost my mind...but I knew better.
As for Ali Farka Toure, I never did get to see him live before he passed away, one of my true regrets, but he remains still probably the master of all African music in my eyes. "Niafunke" most definitely is in my top list of albums of all time and if you've never heard it or "Talking Timbuktu", I highly recommend taking the plunge. It's libel to change your life if you give the opportunity to.
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