Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré has always very much done things his own way. When his father—legendary Malian bluesman Ali Farka Touré—insisted that he not pursue a career in music, not only did Vieux teach himself how to play guitar, but he also enrolled himself in Mali's national school for the arts. And, once he had developed his skill and established himself as a gifted guitarist, he decided that rather than follow in the (giant) stylistic footsteps of his father, he would chart his own creative course. Merging a wide range of styles and approaches throughout the last 15 years of his career, Touré's music has touched on everything from soul music and blues-rock to remixes and true cross-cultural fusion (for example, the Touré-Raichel Collective, his collaboration with Israeli songwriter Idan Raichel). His musical journey has very pointedly not been a carbon copy of his late father's. However, with Les Racines, Vieux Farka Touré is explicitly exploring his roots. (The album's title literally translates as "the roots.") Now in his 40s, Touré is, in true middle-age-is-almost-here fashion, more open to the richness and dynamism of tradition, and although he's always been deeply respectful of his country's (and family's) musical past, Les Racines finds him entering into a more direct dialogue with it. Thus, the tone here is far more pensive and moderate than any of Touré's prior work, and much of the album proceeds in languid, mid tempo fashion with relatively sparse instrumentation. With some tastefully deployed flutes, light percussion, a guitar cameo from Amadou Bagayoko, and occasional ngoni and background vocals on a few tracks, the focus remains firmly on Touré's guitar and vocals. Only the album closer—the near-seven-minute "Ndjehene Direne"—manages to pick up any steam, matching quick-moving rhythmic complexity with dextrous guitar work and force; the rest of the album mainly sticks to a more pensive and reflective tonality. There are also some gorgeous instrumentals; "L'Âme" is beautiful and naturalistic, with Touré deftly paying tribute to his father's guitar work, while the title track is a shimmering showcase for the younger Touré's own unique playing. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz