Sounds of the Sahara 

Three, maybe four, years ago, my son gave me a couple of CDs of music that he had heard while travelling in North Africa.  One of them was by a long time favourite, Baaba Maal.  ‘Djam Leeli’ contains recordings that were made around 1984 and feature Maal with long time collaborator, Mansour Seck, another Senegalese.  The blind Mansour’s first known sound recordings were believed lost for a number of years before their first release in 1988.  The simple sound is instantly engaging, the acoustic guitars of the two principals augmented by an electric guitar, percussion and a balafon – a species of African xylophone. 

The other album was by a band of which I had not then previously heard.  Tinawiren is a group of Tuareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali.  Legend has it that the band was formed while its members were refugees in Libya, escaping from a civil war in their home country.  The cover of their 2007 album ‘Aman Iman’ was enough to intrigue me.  In the foreground of a lustreless black and white photo of an overcast desert landscape, seven musicians stare defensively at the camera.  Clad in ankle length robes and head dress, three carrying guitars, the group of unlikely stars wear expressions suggesting that a private colloquy had been interrupted.  There is no indication of the source of power for their instruments, yet Tinawiren’s music is propelled by a battery of electric guitars.  The instrumentation is completed by simple percussion, hand claps and a good old bass guitar. 

The band’s sound is quite different from that of other guitar led Malian combos known to European audiences for a longer period.  It’s altogether earthier than the sound produced by the ubiquitous Ali Farka Toure who, as long ago as 1994, was accorded the accolade of making Talking Timbuktu, an easy-on-the-ear blues influenced album, with world music polyglot, Ry Cooder.  Tinariwen also eschews the poppier feel and western tinged rhythms embraced by the likes of Amadou and Maryam.   The uniqueness of Tinariwen is hallmarked by the unison vocals that sweep over the backing instruments like a sonic Sirocco. 

Last Thursday at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Tinariwen played a wonderfully well paced set that enabled each of the individual talents time and space to shine.  As leader Ibrahim Ag Alhabib let each of the other guitarists take turns at lead, rhythm, bass and lead vocals, a red fender Strat was passed from hand-to-hand – or more accurately hands-to-hands.  Held by each as if it were a sacred artefact possessed of magical qualities, the Strat was reserved for those numbers that included ever more exquisitely played solos.  The vocal section also features back-ups from Alhassane Ag Touhami, the sole female in the group, who also contributes atmospheric ululation.  Touhami dances, but it’s percussionist/vocalist Said Ag Ayad who steals the limelight with his exotic hand movements and joyous jiggling, sometimes reminiscent of Eric Idle’s haggling market trader in ’Life of Brian’. 

Playing older pieces from their repertoire as well as others from their most recent album, ‘Tassili’, Tinariwen mixed up their self-defining Saharan electric sound with some mellower acoustic music.  The set built up subtly, almost imperceptibly, as the audience was continually invited to augment the relentless handclaps.  The rhythms became increasingly complex and eventually too much for all but the most able of the Empire crowd to follow.   

Tinawiren’s albums are worth listening to but they don’t quite capture the uplifting magic of the band’s live performance.  The night was made even more memorable following the inevitable encore as the band received its Songlines World Music award for best group.   

Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck’s ‘Djam Leeli’ is a CD released in 1989 by Rogue Records.  ‘Aman Iman’ by Tinawiren is a CD released by World Village in 2007.  ‘Tassili’ by Tinawiren is a CD released by V2 in 2011.  Talking Timbuktu Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder is a CD released by World Circuit in 1994. ‘Wati’ by Amadou and Maryam is a CD released by Sunnyside Communications in 2002, their ‘Greatest Hits’ CD was released in 2005 by Universal Music.