This post has been updated 1/9/2022
Here I get a chance to feature some of my personal favorite
music so far, so if I’ve ranted on too much, just skip the words & dig
right into the music. I don’t think you will be disappointed. But if you are
concerned with the plight of indigenous people around the world, read on, I
don’t think you be disappointed either. There is an incredible history that has
progressed from 60s Ali Farka Touré, the father of desert blues, to 70s
Tinariwen Tuareg guitar rock, to 90s & onward to today’s Tuareg
Guitar Revolution music…the fight of an original people for freedom in their
own homelands against the capitalist greed for Uranium profits & ethnic supremacy.
Niger is
a landlocked country in West Africa bordered by Mali,
Algeria, Libya, Chad
& Nigeria.
Niger
has a very rich cultural heritage. It sits at the desert crossroads between the
Berber & Arab cultures of the North & the many sub-Saharan cultures of
the South. In Niger
there are eleven different ethnic groups most of whom are farmers or
pastoralists, some sedentary & some nomadic. Amongst theses are the Tuareg.
They move with their camels, long-horned cattle, sheep, goats, & donkeys
seeking pastures along the Sahelian savannah at the fringes of the South Sahara.
The Tuaregs are a Berber ethnic group, whose immense
homeland covers parts of Niger,
Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria,
& Libya.
The Tuareg people of Northern Africa operated
the much-coveted trans-Saharan caravan trade for centuries. Nomadic
pastoralists & broadsword-wielding raiders, the fiercely independent people
have resisted European hegemony since Europe began colonizing Africa.
The latest revolt was in the early 1990s against the governments of Mali & Niger over the Tuareg’s desire for
self-governance of their traditional homeland. The uprising introduced a new
form of rebellion thanks to the initiation of the electric guitar into Tuareg
culture: political commentary relayed via song.
Cassettes of such music carrying messages through Libyan Refugee camps where the freedom fighters & their families had gone for safety, referred to as the ‘Tuareg Guitar Revolution’, spread quickly across the Tuareg society (whose population is well past the million mark). Unsurprisingly the music was banned by the opposing governments. The 1995 Peace Pact Accord between the governments of Mali & Niger with the Rebels may have diminished the violence, but the electric guitar & the political song’s influence on the culture would not go away.
Cassettes of such music carrying messages through Libyan Refugee camps where the freedom fighters & their families had gone for safety, referred to as the ‘Tuareg Guitar Revolution’, spread quickly across the Tuareg society (whose population is well past the million mark). Unsurprisingly the music was banned by the opposing governments. The 1995 Peace Pact Accord between the governments of Mali & Niger with the Rebels may have diminished the violence, but the electric guitar & the political song’s influence on the culture would not go away.
Another of the pastoralist ethnic groups is the Wodaabe. In Niger the
Wodaabe & the Tuareg live side by side on the desert’s fringes sharing
pastures & water sources. They try to work together to be strong, to give
their cultures a future in this changing world. The music of the two tribes is
very different. However, that all changed in 2004. Etran Finatawa was formed as
a band at the time of the 2004 Festival in the Desert near Timbuctou. The
literal meaning of their name is ‘the stars of tradition’. They are the first
group ever to use the songs & music of the Wodaabe in a modern context.
They began as a group of ten musicians, both Tuareg & Wodaabe, who wanted
to unite these two nomadic cultures as a symbol of peace & reconciliation.
The way Etran Finatawa combined these two musical traditions has produced a
powerful & hypnotic sound, a new musical style of Nomad Blues.
In this interchange of modern & traditional styles,
handclapping & rich percussion often lead the songs. This is an invitation
to dance, while the guitar work of Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla (also bass
& rhythm guitar) & Ghalitane Khamindoune gives a special blues groove
to the music. These melodies, rhythms, & vocals evoke a haunting image of
the Sahel arid desert. The rich heady blend of
the particular stylings of the Wodaabe singers Bagui Bouga, Mamane Tankari,
& Bammo Agonla, the strong singing voices of the Anivolla, Khamindoune,
& Jamil, the polyrhythmic tende drumming of Zaig Ag Abdoul Jamil, & the
polyphonic chorus of the whole band is highly innovative, unique & richly
rewarding.
Etran Finatawa – Desert Crossroads, Riverboat Records TUGCD
1048, 2008.
decryption code in comments
Tracklist –
Saghmar N Nanna
Kel Tamascheck
Iguefan
Tea Ceremony I
Jama’aare
Tekana
Ganyo Maada
Soto
Asistan
Bagui’s Soundscape
Gaynaako
Alghalem Taxat
Tea Ceremony II
Amidinine
Naanaaye
Tea Ceremony III
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Although the most famous of the Tuareg Guitar Revolution
bands is Tinariwen, Group Inerane make up in musical ability anything that
might be lacking in international following. Helmed by the enigmatic guitar
player Bibi Ahmed, Group Inerane encompasses the most exciting aspects of the Tuareg
guitar style. Ahmed plays elliptical bluesy riffs over minimalist rhythmic
patterns while a chorus of chanting voices add to the polyphony. On the first
volume of Guitars of Agadez, Adi Mohammed traded amazing riffs with Bibi. Adi
Mohammed was shot & killed during the latest round of skirmishes between
the Tuareg of the Agadez region & the government of Niger, a
conflict rooted in the struggle for a Tuareg independence but deeply linked to
the profitable uranium industry which dominates the northern half of this poor
nation. In Mohammed's stead is the older Koudede Maman, who represented a link
between Tinariwen, which began in the late 70s, & younger Tuareg guitarists
like Ahmed. In October 2012 Koudede Manan died in an accident while returning
from a gig in Burkina Faso.
The idiosyncratic tone of the guitars with buzzing
amplifiers on Guitars from Agadez takes on a new form of Sahel
psychedelia. One can hear amplified roots rock & blues elements in the
music, but it doesn’t sound influenced by American or European counterparts. It
sounds as secluded as its geographic homeland, though surprisingly very
accessible. Like the Tuareg people themselves, the music is resilient &
commanding, making for a continuously exciting listen.
On Guitars from Agadez vol. 3, Group Inerane are: Koudede Manan –
vocals; Bibi Ahmed – vocals & guitar; Abdulai Sidi Mohamed – bass; & Mohamed
Atchinguel - drums.
Group Inerane – Guitars from Agadez vol. 3, Sublime
Frequencies SF061, 2010.
decryption code in comments
Side A –
Telalit
Alemin
Tamidit in Aicha
Itrara
Side B –
Tchigefen
Ikabkaban
Golf
Medan
Deran Deran
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
As with Tinariwen & Group Inerane, the electric guitar
is the most important instrument with Toumast. Coupled with guitarist Moussa Ag
Keyna’s playing is his songwriting & rebel attitude. Toumast’s music
personifies everything that the Tuareg Guitar Revolution & the Taureg
struggle for self-reliance represents. Ag Keyna is a former Tuareg freedom
fighter. Clashes between Tuareg freedom fighters & Mali’s /Niger’s military resulted in
thousands of casualties. Ag Keyna himself was seriously wounded in 1993. He was
taken to France
to recuperate. There he continued his fight through music. He got together with
his niece, percussionist, & haunting vocalist Aminatou Goumar & the
French multi-instrumentalist/ producer Dan Levy who whilst not on the cover can
be seen as the third member of Toumast (which means ‘our identity’ or ‘our
people’ in Tuareg Tamasheq).
Call it desert blues or Tuareg rock’n’roll, it’s the
hypnotic, addictive groove which makes it so easily appealing. While listening
to "Maraou Oran", keep in mind that Ag Keyna wrote this when he learned that 12
of his fellow freedom fighters had been assassinated. This music is vital on
many different levels.
Toumast – Ishumar (Tuareg Music of Resistance), Real World
Records 50999, 2007.
decryption code in comments
Tracklist –
Ikalane Walegh (These Countries that are not Mine)
Tallyatidagh (That Girl)
Innulamane (The Falcon)
Ammilana (O My God, O My Soul)
Ezeref (The Camel)
Dounia (Life)
Maraou Oran (For Twelve Moons)
Kik Ayittma (Hey, My Brothers!)
Amidinine (O My Friend)
Enjoy,
NØ
Yep. Hard to beat these. But I must admit seeing Tinariwen at a posh dinner theatre in Seattle on a rainy winter night was one of the most...um...incorrect but fabulous experiences.
ReplyDeleteI have never & will never pass up the chance to see Tinariwen, no matter how un-P.C. it might be. The spirituality of the experience cancels any bad karma. Thanks for this & the props. For a Honky like myself, there is just something about the Tuareg guitar sound that just enthralls me. I can imagine sitting around in the windblock of an oued by an oasis at night listening to electric guitars played through battery-powered practice amps wafting across the savannah.
DeleteHave you ever seen or know of the film TOUMAST : GUITARS AND KALASHNIKOVS directed by Dominique Margot?
Do you know this page?
ReplyDeletehttp://musiques-afrique.com/frames/framusic.html
It might help you if you have not completed your African lists
Thanks, I need all the help I can get.
DeleteWhile we are sharing useful websites.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tamasheq.net/
and for another countryless people...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.kurdland.com/download.asp
Thanks, we can all use more enlightening.
DeleteThanks a lot from france for those links but they are dead :(
ReplyDeleteJe vous remercie for letting me know about the dead links. All three files are re-uploaded. Decryption codes below.
DeleteThanks a lot for being so reactive ; it makes me think in the past I noticed other dead links i-can't-remembre-where-but-I'll-figure-it-out and now I know I can report them to you :)
DeleteNew decryption codes
ReplyDeleteEtran Finatawa
nV378e0RAMyv2U5Wi5vBfcbZyTdpdaOjEO62jE5qTNg
Group Inerane
ktuksBfZ3xNLobjSNeyA9GI5rK8QSiXsxb8uImBp0CY
Toumast
qWVGmUyxVaF96LNpZ0rXokbPpld58PjVouLoZbJVo2E
thanks a lot mate, love that music
ReplyDelete