Ali Farka Touré

Ali Farka Touré (1939-2006) was a Malian singer and guitarist from the Timbuktu region, on the Niger river. His playing joined the music of northern Mali, rooted in Songhai tradition, with a closeness to American blues often described as desert blues. He is best known for his World Circuit albums and for Talking Timbuktu, recorded with Ry Cooder. Ali Farka Touré made his first LPs for the Sonafric label in the 1970s, among them Spécial Biennale du Mali (1976), Ali Touré "Farka" (1976) and Ali Touré dit "Farka" (1980), and worked as a sound engineer at Radio Mali.