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The trance-inducing melodies and rhythms of the Toureg, the peoples
that inhabit the vast Saharan expanses of northern Mali, Libya
and Niger seem to have a universal application. With the seemingly
paradoxical twin hats of poet and warrior thrust upon them Tinariwen
are not only the survivors of the Touareg uprising of the early
90’s but a musical revolution unto themselves, being the
first and foremost electric band of their people.
Before Tinariwen the concept of a group did
not even exist. Yet an incredibly deep well-spring of rhythmic
poetry call and response was preserved at informal gatherings.
Amassakoul is the follow-up to their acclaimed first album, The
Radio Tisdas Sessions. Traditional chants and blues-like tonalities
of ancient derivation are wedded to slashing, spiky electric guitar
to create a brew that really rocks with a hypnotic intensity that
makes most so-called contemporary rock guitarists sound like they’re
playing by the numbers (which they are). Yet everything here is
wedded to deep tradition, even the sections of Arawan, a type
of desert rap poetry.
What’s arresting about the music of Tinariwen
is its variety of form as they pulse along in a series of compulsive
modes that should have any self respecting blues buff racing across
the desert. There’s a palpable excitement in everything
that the group plays. In the unlikely event that fans of Ali Farka
Toure haven’t heard this group, they are promptly ordered
to check them out. And if you have a penchant for Moroccan gnawa
music, likewise.
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