Matthew McConaughey says a dream prompted him to travel to Mali after first hearing Ali Farka Touré’s song “Ai Du,” according to Rolling Stone. The actor described the trip as one of the most important he has ever taken.
McConaughey told the magazine he used liner notes to figure out that Touré was from Niafunké, then set out without a return ticket. He said the journey included a nine-hour ride to Mopti and a two-day boat trip up the Niger River before he began looking for the musician in town.
He said he eventually found Touré, though he had forgotten the name of the song he was seeking. McConaughey recalled that Touré played a VHS recording of himself performing in concert in France and said, through translation, that it was a show where he “stopped the rain.”
In the interview, McConaughey also talked about other songs tied to family, movies and memory. He said tracks by Tears for Fears, Paul Simon, John Mellencamp, AC/DC, Steve Miller Band and U2 all connect to different moments in his life.
