Tinariwen

"When I first heard them, I felt like this was the music I've been looking for all my life," says Robert Plant about these electric nomads from Sahara. Last summer they played at Glastonbury. Their Amassakoul CD was No 1 in the annual European World Music charts for 2004. This January, "poet-guitarists and soul rebels" have won the BBC World Music Award in the Africa Category. "Nurtured in exile, raised in conflict, and driven underground, where they achieved legendary status, Tinariwen are the kind of band that generations of western rebel rockers could only dream of being." - The Guardian (UK)

Many foreigners find Sahara a fascinating place. The American novelist and music collector Paul Bowles explored the local musical traditions since 1930's, followed by William Burroughs, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. The nomad Touaregs offer an explanation: "The God created the fertile lands for people to live, as well as deserts so they can explore their souls."
Sahara's southern port of entry, Timbuktu, is the place where Touaregs mix with the black people from Mali. Unfortunately, the end of colonial power in 1960's was disaster for the nomads. Touaregs became a nation without a state, their territory was split between the newly formed independent African states. Their uprising in 1963 was defeated and the nomads became outlaws.
After witnessing his father's murder at the hands of Malian soldiers, the future Tinariwen guitarist Ibrahim was forced to join a training camp in southern Lybia, where Ghadaffi made false promises to help the Touareg cause. In between classes about revolution, Islamism, and guerrilla warfare, Ibrahim played music with friends. Upon hearing the music of Marley, Dylan, Lennon, and the Moroccan new wave for the first time, they discarded traditional instruments like the shepherd flute and tindé drum in favor of the electric guitar, bass, and drums. However, they continued the tradition the traditional poetic composition, and choral call-and-response. Soon they became musical revolutionaries. Their songs are petitions for political and cultural self-determination. They have become a point of identity for Touareg youth. In a land void of laptops and TVs, cheap cassette recordings spread hope and resolve. Sick of the suffering caused by armed rebellion, the music of bands like Tinariwen is the new weapon of choice.
Although Tinariwen formed in 1982, they remained underground (Mali and Algeria banned the political lyrics) until the group moved to the Malian capital of Bamako in 1999. There the ten members drew on a rebel rock sensibility, openly playing their passionate, trance-like Desert Blues. During the first eclipse (and first full moon) of the millennium, Tinariwen performed - along with Robert Plant - at The Festival in the Desert. Thrown near the ancient ruins of Tamaradant, remote and distant from any visible life, the Festival was an effort to further goals of reconciliation, development, and international awareness.
Reporter Andy Morgan asserts that Tinariwen's soulful music produced a magical effect on the crowd, causing "the young Touaregs to stamp and dance with abandon in front of the stage. These men were heroes and mentors." The ten band members are indeed the pride of the desert. Experiences in battle have created many legends. Kheddou is said to have received 17 bullet wounds after leading several raids, armed only with a guitar on his back and a Kalashnikov in his hands. Once, he was doused in gasoline, owing his life to a faulty lighter.
The instrumentation which the group use is simple despite its modernity. Their link with traditional Touareg music is still clear. The instruments are of three types. First, strings, essentially guitars, acoustic or electric (but occasionally also other more traditional instruments like the tehardant or the n'goni) which play the melodies. Secondly, the lead voices, which perform lyrics supplied by a composer. All the musicians join in with the choruses. Thirdly, the group use the percussion instruments commonly found in the desert. The most important is simply hand claps. Touareg music carries you away on a gently rhythmic journey, in step with the languorous pace of the camel.

Web:
www.rootsworld.com
www.eyefortalent.com
mali-music.com
www.triban-union.com

Music:
Amakassoul - mp3
Tessalit - mp3

Download:

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