Toumast

The Sahara Sessions was recorded deep in the desert. Sheltered only by an animal-skin tent and the vast canopy of midnight stars, Etran Finatawa played their guitars and sang straight from the heart. Each poignant song and every slap of the calabash drum articulating the deep-set divisions in the Sahel region that are threatening their Nomad way of life.

Tinariwen’s identity as a band is tightly bound up in the Sahara. They are named for the vast empty spaces traversed by the Kel Tamashek (aka Tuareg), traditional nomads for whom modern borders have been problematic. The band formed in Libya while in exile from Mali, and has always made music that passionately evokes its home; their last album was recorded in the open air of that desert. Such an arrangement was not possible this time. The political situation in Mali made returning to the northern desert untenable, and though they’ve been driven from power in most places, the specter of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreban organization ideologically opposed to musicstill looms across a large swath of the Sahara.

Tamikrest - Chatma (2013) {Glitterbeat - GBCD 007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 272 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
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© 2013 Glitterbeat | GBCD 007
Desert Blues / International / Contemporary Tuareg Music / Mali / Kidal

It isn't easy following in the steps of Tinariwen, but Tamikrest are the brightest young contenders among the new Tamashek-speaking desert blues bands mixing traditional styles with elements of indie rock. Driven from northern Mali by the fighting and imposition of sharia law, they are currently exiled in Algeria, and their new set is a concept work, dealing with the courage of Tuareg women and the suffering of the past year. But the music is anything but bleak, driven on by sturdy bass, insistent percussion, and gently driving and inventive guitar work from lead singer Ousmane Ag Mossa, who also duets with the band's fine female singer Wonou Walet Sidati, formerly with Tinariwen. It's a refreshingly varied set, from the slinky and optimistic Tomorrow, Another Day to the atmospheric mix of wailing guitar and voices on the gently drifting The Journey, influenced by Pink Floyd.

A pan-African All-Star band merging two cultures. Desert blues man Alhousseini Anivolla meets Ethio-jazz guitarist Girum Mezmur. Their album ”Afropentatonism” features repetitive grooves, hypnotic jams and raw guitar sounds.