Recorded largely in Mali's Studio Bogolan before being carried to Brooklyn, The Secret was produced by Eric Krasno, a versatile guitarist and founder of jazz futurists Soulive.
Originally conceived of as an extended family-style project, Krasno says, 'Initially we wanted to have a lot of guests, but in the end we narrowed it down to just a few, and that lent itself to the strength of the album.' Still, when those musical relatives include people like Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, Jon Scofield and Ivan Neville, the sonic DNA is going to be heavy and the sessions are going to run deep. Given his recent accomplishments - including a successful collaboration with South African rock band BLK JKS and a performance in front of a billion people during the 2010 World Cup - Vieux's time to break through to larger audiences has arrived.
