The Source (Ali Farka Touré album)

The Source is a studio album by Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, released in 1992. It represents a pivotal point in Touré's international career, marking a shift towards wider recognition and influence. The album showcases Touré's distinctive style of desert blues, blending traditional Malian music with elements of American blues.

The album features Touré's characteristic guitar playing, a hypnotic and deeply rhythmic sound often described as "desert blues" or "Saharan blues". His vocals, typically sung in Songhai, Tamašek, and Fulfulde, are integral to the album's atmosphere, conveying a sense of both melancholy and resilience. The Source also features instrumentation typical of Malian music, including percussion and calabash.

While often categorized as "world music," The Source resisted easy categorization. It demonstrated the profound connections between African musical traditions and the blues, influencing subsequent generations of musicians. The album is often noted for its raw and authentic sound, largely eschewing Western production techniques to capture the essence of Touré's performance. It is considered one of his most important works and a significant contribution to the understanding and appreciation of Malian music.