DEEP ROOTS.
OPEN HORIZONS.

01 · Niafunké, Mali

Finding his
own way in.

Being Ali Farka Touré’s son did not make a musical career inevitable.

Born in 1981, Vieux initially studied drums and calabash at Mali’s Institut National des Arts. His father, aware of the pressures of a musician’s life, hoped he would choose another path. Vieux began learning guitar in secret in 2001.

Family friend and kora master Toumani Diabaté helped persuade Ali to support his son’s choice. Before his death in 2006, Ali recorded with Vieux. Some of those final performances appeared on Vieux’s self-titled debut in 2007, alongside Toumani.

The record began a conversation between generations that Vieux has continued in many different forms.

02 · A sound taking shape

From inheritance
to invention.

On Fondo in 2009, rock, Latin influences and other African sounds widened the musical frame. The northern Malian roots remained audible as Vieux developed his own rhythmic and electric vocabulary.

His appearance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening concert in South Africa brought that energy to a vast international stage. The same year, LIVE captured the intensity of his performances.

That live character remains central: repeating figures gather momentum, the band shifts beneath the guitar, and virtuosity serves the movement of the music.

03 · Musical encounters

An open door
to other voices.

Collaboration has been a recurring way for Vieux to test and expand his musical language.

The Secret (2011), produced by Eric Krasno, brought him together with Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks and John Scofield. Its title track also holds a final collaboration with his father.

With pianist Idan Raichel, the Touré-Raichel Collective recorded The Tel Aviv Session (2012) and The Paris Session (2014). Voice and experimentation found another setting on Touristes, his 2015 collaboration with Julia Easterlin.

Each meeting brings a different texture to the music. Vieux’s guitar remains recognisable within it.

05 · Beyond the music

Keeping culture
in circulation.

Vieux founded Amahrec Sahel in 2012. Its work has included school supplies for children, support for an orphanage in Bamako and musical instruments for young musicians in Mali.

He also directs the Ali Farka Touré Foundation, dedicated to preserving his father’s legacy and supporting Mali’s cultural growth. The connection to home extends beyond the records and the stage.

06 · The conversation continues

More roads
to travel.

“Joulou Fola”, with Suntou Susso in 2025, continues the thread of musical exchange. The collaboration with Roberto Fonseca opens another chapter for 2027: Crossing Oceans, where Malian guitar meets Afro-Cuban piano.

Alongside these encounters, Vieux’s own band remains a direct route into his world: songs drawn from across his catalogue, shaped anew in performance.