Ali (Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin album)

Ali is a collaborative studio album by Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré and Texan trio Khruangbin. It consists of covers of songs by Vieux's father, Ali Farka Touré. It was released on September 23, 2022, on Dead Oceans.[1][2]

Ali
Studio album by
Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2022 (2022-09-23)
RecordedJune 2019
StudioKhruangbin's home studio, Burton, Texas
Length37:02
LabelDead Oceans
Producer
Vieux Farka Touré chronology
Les Racines
(2022)		 Ali
(2022)
Khruangbin chronology
Late Night Tales: Khruangbin
(2020)		 Ali
(2022)
Singles from Ali
  1. "Savanne"
    Released: 27 July 2022
  2. "Tongo Barra"
    Released: 31 August 2022

Background

Vieux Farka Touré was looking for musicians to work with on an album that would honor his father, Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006. Vieux's manager suggested he collaborate with Houston, Texas-based musical trio Khruangbin, and Vieux met them at a pub in London. He decided to collaborate with them after attending their concert at the Roundhouse in London in 2018, impressed by their live show. They recorded the album over the course of a week in June 2019 at Khruangbin's barn in Burton, Texas. The songs on the album were selected by Ali's 11 children. After being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album was finalized in 2021.[3][4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Clash7/10[7]
Crack7/10[8]
Far Out[9]
Financial Times[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[12]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian awarded the album five stars out of five, calling the collaboration "an inspired choice" and adding, "It's an album you can easily lose yourself in, which is presumably the point."[11] Janne Oinonen of The Line of Best Fit wrote, "Both parties benefit from the collaboration on Ali: Touré gets to paint the songs he loves with a wider palette without diluting the power of the source material, and Khruangbin adds some welcome grit to their smooth and hazy signature sound."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ali Farka Touré

No.TitleLength
1."Savanne"5:16
2."Lobbo"4:34
3."Diarabi"5:01
4."Tongo Barra"5:33
5."Tamalla"5:55
6."Mahine Me"2:40
7."Ali Hala Abada"5:02
8."Alakarra"2:59
Total length:37:02

Personnel
  • Vieux Farka Touré — guitar; vocals (tracks 1-7)
  • Mark Speer — synthesizer (tracks 1, 7), congas (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7), guitar (tracks 2-6, 8), organ (tracks 2-4), vocals (tracks 2-8), percussion (tracks 2-5, 7, 8)
  • Laura Lee Ochoa — bass; vocals (tracks 2-8), percussion (tracks 2-5, 7, 8), whisper (track 8)
  • Donald "DJ" Johnson Jr. — drums; vocals (tracks 2-8), percussion (tracks 2-5, 7, 8), washboard (track 6)
Additional Personnel
  • Ruben Moreno — accordion (track J)

Charts
Weekly chart performance for Ali
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 158
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 51
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 47

References
  1. Minsker, Evan (27 July 2022). "Khruangbin and Vieux Farka Touré Announce New Album Ali, Share New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. Kendrick, Joe (10 August 2022). "Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin, 'Savanne'". NPR. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. Savage, Mark (16 September 2022). "How Khruangbin updated the music of Mali's maestro Ali Farka Touré". BBC. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. Jolley, Ben. "Khruangbin and Vieux Farka Touré: "There's wisdom in honouring your ancestors"". NME. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  5. "Critic Reviews for Ali by Vieux Farka Touré". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. Simpson, Paul. "Ali Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  7. "Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali". Clash. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  8. Kalia, Ammar (23 September 2022). "Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin: Ali". Crack. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  9. Taylor, Tom (22 September 2022). "Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin offer up lilting relaxation with new album 'Ali'". Far Out. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  10. Honigmann, David (29 September 2022). "Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin confront a musical legacy in Ali". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  11. Petridis, Alexis (22 September 2022). "Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin: Ali review – inspired grooves to get lost in". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  12. Oinonen, Janne (21 September 2022). "Ali is a mesmerising union between Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  13. "Australiancharts.com – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. "Ultratop.be – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  18. "Charts.nz – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Ali". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
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