by Daniel Colussi | From Gao in northern Mali, Sidi Toure is a desert-bluesman of the highest order. The nimble rhythms of his music recall the desert landscapes of his homeland. The desert is a circle, Jodorowsky taught us, and Toure’s entrancing rhythms are rooted in the seeming timelessness of the Sahel. Drawing on native folk traditions that date back to the glory days of the 15th/16th century Goa empire, Toure’s career dates back to the early 80’s but his music only became readily available in North America last year. His two Thrill Jockey albums – Sahel Folk and Koima – make for strange and beautiful listening. I can only imagine the magic that’ll be in the air when he and band play Folk Fest this weekend. Through the assistance of French translator Karima, I was able to have a brief chat with Toure. Enjoy…

How is the tour going so far? It’s going to extremely well that you’d think we’d been coming to the US for twenty years already. People in the crowds are dancing and singing, you’d think they understood my language. It’s been really great.

What are your earliest musical memories in Mali? There was a Radio France International Laureate who came to play who came to play with the regional orchestra of Gao when I was twelve years old. And he sang and played guitar very well and that was the first time I’d ever seen anyone play guitar that well. I used to play around with making little instruments when I was very young, but it was that day the I decided I had to play like this person.

Sidi, you’re the only person in your royal family who’s pursued music as a career. So what does your family think about that? The whole family is really happy. But my oldest brother still calls me jokingly the griot of the family. It’s a way to tease me because we’re not from a family of griots, who are the traditional musicians in Mali. Everyone wants to hear that their child is doing really well and is becoming well known, so they’re just really happy for me.

How did your association with Chicago label Thrill Jockey come about? It’s a long story! With my producer Nicholas, who lives in France, we made the two albums – Sahel Folk and Koima – and we were looking for a distributer all over Mali. But the distributers in Mali are kind of super-saturated with this kind of music, and so no one was interested in taking on a new artist or any new CDs. Nicholas had some contacts and Thrill Jockey for a few CDs and after a few days they said that they liked it so much that they’ll take both of the albums. We trusted Thrill Jockey a lot, because people in Mali who deal with the music business aren’t necessarily musicians, but in the US a lot of the industry people either used to be musicians or they book tours, things like that.  o I put my full confidence in the label.

Could you tell me about the concept behind the two albums? Koima, which is the second release, was actually recorded first. It was recorded in Bamako and it was planned with my own vision for different songs, to have calabash and different percussive instruments. That was my own personal idea of what I wanted release for my own music. Sahel Folk was an idea that came up between myself and Nicholas, to go and record with my old music friends without calabash, and just make a compilation with all these musicians that I’ve known for so long. We went to Gao, my hometown, and recorded at my sister’s home studio.

What’s your experience of performing like? It’s human warmth and human exchange. The public is there. I don’t drink or smoke or do any drugs, but performing for the public is my drug. It’s what makes me so happy.

Who are your favourite bluesmen? If I start citing them I’ll never finish! My most favourite cassette that I bought in Bamako is called “Kings Of The Blues,” and its a compilation. BB King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, et cetera. I love this cassette and I still have it! And I discovered them after I’d composed so many pieces. People started telling me that my music sounded like this person or this person, but I didn’t know who they were until I started listening to this cassette and seeing that there was this link. Also, by listening to Ali Farka Toure I understood the links of American blues and the music of Mali.

Sidi Toure plays the 2012 Vancouver Folk Fest July 13th – 15th.

Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine and a contributing writer to Ion Magazine. A veteran employee of Zulu Records and tuneage aficionado, he DJs on an infrequent basis (about four times a year) and is a musician around town who plays in several ensembles.