Vieux Farka Touré/Khruangbin: Ali [DEAD OCEANS]

Why you'll love it

This Dead Oceans LP comes in a gatefold jacket with a download code. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis gave it five stars and called the pairing an inspired choice.

This edition

• Gatefold jacket
• Download card included
• Pressed in the Czech Republic
• Stereo mix

About the album

Vieux Farka Touré wanted to honour his father, the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006, and he needed the right band to do it. His manager suggested Khruangbin. Vieux met them at a pub in London, then caught their show at the Roundhouse in 2018 and was sold on the spot.

In June 2019 they spent a week at Khruangbin's barn in Burton, Texas, working through songs chosen by Ali's 11 children. Vieux's guitar and voice lead the way, with Mark Speer on guitar, organ and congas, Laura Lee Ochoa on bass and Donald "DJ" Johnson Jr. on drums, and Ruben Moreno adds accordion to "Mahine Me." "Savanne," "Diarabi" and "Tongo Barra" float on that unhurried Khruangbin groove while keeping the desert blues at their core, and "Alakarra" closes with a whisper from Ochoa.

The pandemic put the project on hold until it was finished in 2021. The Line of Best Fit wrote that both sides benefit, Touré painting the songs with a wider palette and Khruangbin adding some welcome grit. It's the sort of record that makes an afternoon shift go by suspiciously fast.

Also at Kops: more Vieux Farka Touré on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

On Dead Oceans (cat# DOC274), the 2022 album.