Malian singer-songwriter Vieux Farka Touré (son of the late great West African desert bluesman Ali “Farka” Touré) joins forces with Julia Easterlin on a new collaborative project Touristes. Touré’s Saharan griot blues comes through loud and clear as it weaves in and out of tracks featuring Easterlin on vocals with a crack band of musicians performing on traditional and modern instruments. Everything they tackle on Touristes sounds sublime, from a cover of Dylan’s “Masters of War” to a reworking of the venerable Appalachian tune “In the Pines” with Saharan rhythms and a horn section. The album has just been released on Six Degrees Records and the duo will perform tracks live at the Rio Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 6. For more info visit sixdegreesrecords.com.
