This is a lovely story of a chance meeting that led to the creation of some beautiful music. Vieux Farka Touré and Idan Raichel explore their common ground between Mali and Israel. I’ve been playing The Tel Aviv Session non-stop in my workshop; a gorgeous, improvised soundtrack to our recent heatwave. It’s almost as good as the magnificent Talking Timbuktu, the 1994 collaboration between Vieux’s father, Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder. There’s also a new album by Vieux Farka Touré, Mon Pays, and I’m looking forward to seeing him perform live at this weekend’s Open East Festival.
I played the Tel-Aviv Session and really loved it. The music is beautiful and the concept of breaking barriers appeals to me particularly as I was born in Israel and I feel strongly about cross cultural collaboration. My artwork ‘Jerusalem – Topography, Typography’ uses images and text to express the diverse cultures that coexist in this city and its environs.