Touré was born in
Niafunké, Mali, in 1981 to Ali Farka Touré. Despite his father's discouragement and his family's lineage as a tribe of soldiers, Touré secretly took up the guitar and enrolled in the
Institut National des Arts in
Bamako, Mali. In 2005, Eric Herman of
Modiba expressed interest in producing an album for Touré; to do so, he had to acquire permission from Ali Touré,
Toumani Diabaté, and other community elders. This led to his self-titled debut album, produced by Modiba and released by
World Village on 12 February 2007. The album featured
Toumani Diabaté as well as his late father, who died in 2006. Following the release of a remix album,
UFOs Over Bamako, in 2008, and multiple tours, Vieux released his second studio album in May 2009.
Fondo peaked at #5 on
Billboard's World Albums chart the week of 11 July 2009 and was included in the
Village Voices Top 100 list for 2009. In June 2010, Vieux was invited to perform at the Opening Celebration of the
2010 FIFA World Cup; other performers included
Shakira,
Alicia Keys and
K’naan. That month, Vieux also released his first live album,
LIVE. Vieux's fourth studio album,
Mon Pays, was released by Six Degrees Records on 28 May 2013. The title, French for "My Country", refers to his native Mali, and serves as a reminder of its beauty and culture, even in the midst of the territorial conflict between Tuareg and Islamic populations that have threatened it since January 2012.
Samba was released in spring 2017. It was recorded in front of a live studio audience in
Woodstock, NY. The title "Samba" has nothing to do with the Brazilian style of music; as the second boy in his family Vieux was always called "samba", meaning "second boy" in Songhai, Additionally, the featured song “Samba Si Kairi" is named after a song his father and grandfather would sing while he played the
calabash. Dominic Valvona of Monolith Cocktail praises the work, writing: "This is the devotional, earthy soul of Mali, channeled through a six-string electric guitar." On 10 June 2022, Touré released his sixth solo album,
Les Racines, on
World Circuit.
Les Racines translates as "the roots", a nod to the album returning to the
desert blues roots of Touré's father, Ali Farka Touré. The album was recorded in Touré's home studio in Bamako and features a number of Malian musicians such as Amadou Bagayoko from
Amadou & Mariam,
Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté, and Madou Traore. == The Touré-Raichel Collective ==