Vieux Farke Toure @ NAC

The Arts Centre is sold out on a school night, filled with lively young things and more sedate older things, all ready to enjoy a night of African music. There are many individuals who look like Geography teachers, someone in double cord plus a guy in a vest. This bodes well for a good evening in my book.

Support act Sefo Kanuteh moved to Norwich in 2011 from the Mande heartland of West Africa. Growing up in a small village in the East of Gambia he learnt to play the Kora, a core Mande griot instrument and has gone on to play with the biggest stars of African music including Baaba Maal. Imagine a big old gourd with a mini harp attached to the top. That's a Kora, and tonight Sefo has two onstage with him tuned to different pitches. His playing is exemplary and his style confident without being brash. The Kora sound has some similarities to Baroque music because it's very much like a harpsichord in its make up; also, the tunes are filled with expertly performed trills and embellishments. His vocals are not as strong as his playing, but it hardly matters as we are all entranced by the resonance pouring from his instrument. Musically it’s deceptively simple and bare, with some lovely silences in between the notes, and it's all pretty sparkly in my ears. The sizeable crowd stands in an awed silence. His 30 minute set goes by in a flash; this is life affirming music that I hope to check out again soon.

Vieux Farke Toure, son of the Grammy award winning legendary guitarist Ali Farke Toure, comes straight outta Mali. Having been discouraged from being involved in the same world as his dad, he secretly learnt guitar and took himself off to music school in Bamako. Now known as The Hendrix of the Sahara (as am I, natch), and a successful artist in his own right, Vieux appears onstage tonight dressed in golden robes and wreathed in smiles; it’s like being bathed in sunlight. He’s accompanied by a small band who are so good and play so well together it’s a delight to watch. I particularly enjoy a short slap bass solo towards the end of the evening. Not enough of that sort of thing thus far in 2016.

Vieux doesn’t arrogantly showboat his ability, but there is space within each song for him to spread out and really go to town with his nimble fingers. They barely move, but his style and ability is unquestionable. From a near-heavy metal solo to something that wails like Parisian Walkways to the most delicate and lullaby-like tune, he makes it all look so goddamn easy. He’s playful, and clearly having a great time, despite the fact that it take an hour and repeated encouragement from him for the audience to start shuffling and dancing about. Normal for Norwich. He really makes the guitar sing, and expresses proper emotions through his instrument, something that is all too rare in music these days. Some parts make my heart physically ache they are so beautiful, so tragic, so sensual, so uplifting. I find myself in some sort of trance; the repetitious nature of the African melodies lull me into a sweet submissive state, and transport me to an African landscape dreamt up from my imagination. The songs are substantial, some 10 minutes long, but I don’t even notice. I’m mesmerised. They play for close to two hours, and the crowd lap it up. An evening of pure class and warmth. More please.