Fusing Two Cultures Through Music

It’s no surprise that we love music and we especially love hearing new sounds and a fusion of cultures.

When we read about a unique collaboration between an Israeli pianist and a Malian guitarist, we had to search for samples of their music, which you can find here. If you have time, check it out. Their music does not disappoint!

The birth of this musical pairing began in 2008 when Idan Raichel ran into Vieux Farka Touré at a Berlin airport. Raichel was a big fan of Touré’s father, Ali Farka Touré, and struck up a conversation with the younger Touré. Two years later, Raichel brought Touré to perform at the Tel Aviv Opera House and, after the performance, they recorded an impromptu jam session that was sold as “The Tel Aviv Session” under the name The Touré-Raichel Collective. It became a big hit for world music fans so the duo collaborated again. In October, they released “The Paris Session.”

What makes this combo interesting is that piano is not used in traditional West African music. And Raichel performs more pop music than world music. Both had to test their skills and think creatively when performing.

And they succeeded in their efforts.

In describing the unique collaboration to the New York Times, Raichel said:

“Both of us are coming from a deep heritage. It’s like you have two chefs, one from Taiwan and the other from Mexico. If they are cooking traditional dishes, they will end up finding common ground, because some of the ingredients, like sugar and salt, will be the same.”

Not only are Touré and Raichel providing the world with new and interesting sounds they are also sending a message about tolerance. Touré is Muslim and Raichel is Jewish but their personal beliefs do not matter when they are together.

“People ask me all the time why I am doing this, and I tell them that for me it’s not about religion,” Touré told the New York Times. “Your religion is for you, mine is for me, and it’s not because I am a Muslim and he is something else that we did something together. I am open to all music coming from everywhere in the world. We should not say, ‘O.K. I am a Jew, so I will not play with Muslims,’ or ‘I am a Muslim, so I will not play with Christians.’ That’s why we have problems in this world.”

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