Uncut UK – October 2019

32 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019

THEstoriesthatare
toldaboutTinariwen
elevatethegroup
virtuallytothestatus
ofmyth.Founded
inthelate’70sby
IbrahimAgAlhabib,
thesonofa Tuaregrebelexecutedbythe
Maliangovernment,thegroupspent
theirearlyexistenceasrefugeesbefore
returningfromexileintheearly’90sto
engageinarmedstruggleagainsttheir
oppressors.Followingtheceasefirethey
returnedtomusic,andtodaytheylivea
nomadiclifestyle,playingtheirmusic– a
soulfulandruminativecampfireguitar
stylewidelyknownas“desertblues”

• underthestars.Muchcontemporary
  musicstrikesa rebelliouspose,butfew
  deservetheepithetquiteasmuchas
  Tinariwen.
  Thiskindofmyth-making,though,can
  somewhatobscurethefactthatTinariwen
  area living,breathingband.Theyplay
  festivalsacrosstheworld,theirrecords
  chartinmultipleEuropeancountries,
  andtheirmusichasbeenhailedasan
  inspiration by everyone from Robert

PlantandBrianEnotoa waveofyoung

TuaregguitargroupslikeTamikrest

andImharhan,whosemusicbuildson

Tinariwen’sdistinctivetemplate.Thisisn’t

tosuggestthatinanywayTinariwenhave

becometheestablishment.In2012,the

group’sguitaristAbdallahAgLamidawas

abductedbyradicalIslamists,a symbol

ofhowtheveryexistenceoftheirmusic

continuestochallengea conservative

ideology.Still,it demonstratessomething

ofthepositionTinariwenhold.Here

is a groupthatis bothpioneering,yet

somehowrootedindeeptradition;

concernedwithmattershyper-local,even

astheirmusicresonatesaroundtheglobe.

Allofthisis reflectedinthegroup’sninth

album,Amadjar. Whilethegroup’stwo

precedingrecords,2014’sEmmaarand

2017’sElwan, wererecordedinJoshua

NationalParkinCalifornia,Amadjarfinds

thegroupbackonAfricansoil.It was

writtenandrecordedintheWestAfrican

countryofMauritania,whichborders

thegroup’shomelandofMali.Tinariwen

travelledbydayandwrotesongsaround

thecampfireatnight,trailedbya French

productionteamwhocapturedthegroup’s

musiclive,operatinga mobilestudioout

ofa campervan.Thereis zerosenseon

Amadjarthatthisis a bandinanyway

playingtoaninternationalaudience;on

thecontrary,thismusicfeelshermeticin

itsfocus,guitarspickingoutbluesymotifs,

voicesrisingtogetherinmournfulchorus,

alltetheredbya simpledrumrhythmthat

approximatesthelollopofa camel making

its way across the dunes.

Partofthis,ofcourse,is downto

Tinariwen’sskillatmakingtheirmusic

soundfree-flowingandnatural,even

astheyexperimentwiththeirformula.

Pastalbumshavefeaturedvocalturns

fromAmericanalt.rockstalwartslike

MarkLaneganandTVOnTheRadio’s

KypMaloneandTundeAdebimpe.

There’snothingquitesoboldhere,

althoughseveraltracksfeatureNoura

MintSeymali,a Mauritiangriotwho

bringsa welcomefemalepresence;

sometimesshe’sintegratedintothe

broaderchorus,othertimesleftto

ululatefreely,ason“Amalouma”,

a songthatoffersthankstotheProphet,

evenasit threatensTinariwen’senemies

withoblivion.

Throughout,thesenseoflive

performanceis palpable– youeven,for

instance,hearthequietconversationof

playersdiscussingthetakeattheend

of“IklamDglour”.Still,somesubtle

overdubbingbringsa fewguestmusicians

intothefold.TheBadSeeds’Warren

Ellisis presentonfiveofthisrecord’s

13 tracks,echoingthegroup’smelodies

withramshackle,sawingfiddle.

CassMcCombs,RodolpheBurger

andSunnO)))’sStephenO’Malleyall

contributeguitarparts.AndMicahNelson

addsmandolinandcharangoto“Taqkal

Tarha”,a playful,lopsidedcanterwithan

absurdlyrictomatch:“Moneyhasbecome

a commodity/Thewormhasbecomea bird/

Andthemonkeyhasa mirror/Withwhichhe

gazesathimselfeveryevening.”

Thisis a runningthemethroughout

Amadjar: thesenseofa worldthathas

somehowbeenthrownoutofbalance.

“Whyaremensodivided?”asks

“Takount”,while“KelTinawen”and

“ItousOhar”areheavyofspirit,dwelling

heavilyondisloyaltyandtreachery.

Perhapsthealbum’skeysongis “Zawal”,a

trackwrittenbyAbdallahAgAlhousseyni

thatdividesintotworoughhalves.The

firsthalfis a terrifyingvignettethatsees

prayertimeinterruptedbya terribledark

shapethatblotsoutthesky,sending

turbanedyouthfleeinginitswake;in

fact,it’sa lyricaldramatisationofthefirst

solareclipse,whichflowsseamlesslyinto

a ruminationontheendtimes.“Some

affirmthatGodhasalreadyputanendto

thisworld,” singsAgAlhousseyni.Butthe

songcloseswithhimsittingstoicallyon

hismount,venturingonintothedesert,

boundforwhoknowswhere.

Amadjartranslatesas“theunknown

visitor”inTamashek.Thephrase

communicatesthefeelingofbeing

a strangerina strangelandand,as

Tinariwenuseit,it shouldprobably

beunderstoodbothliterallyandas

metaphor.JustasAmericanbluesmusic

shouldbeunderstoodthroughtheprism

ofslaveryandfaintreminiscenceofthe

Africanmotherland,thedesertbluesof

Amadjardrawsitssoulfroma similar

senseofrupture;ofa homelandrendered

unreachablebyhumanconflict,an

earthly paradise placed just out of reach.

SLEEVENOTES

1 TenereMaloulat

2 Zawal

3 Amalouna

4 TaqkalTarha

5 Anina

6 Madjam

Mahilkamen

7 Takount

8 IklamDglour

9 KelTinawen

10 ItousOhar

11 Mhadjar

YassoufIdjan

12 Wartilla

13 Lalla

Producedby:

PatrickVotan

Personnel

includes:Ibrahim

AgAlhabib,

AbdallahAg

Alhousseyni,

AlhassaneAg

Touhami,Eyadou

AgLeche,Elaga

Ag Hamid

NEW ALBUMS

TINARIWEN

Amajdar
ANTI-

8/10

The desert stormers’ 9th.By Louis Pattison