Dec 17/04
Rock, not War
Something about living in a sand-blasted region filled with ex-empires makes the various peoples of the Sahel want to rock-out. Musicians like Ali Farka Toure have popularized the Malian “desert blues” sound, while others like Amadou and Mariam are spreading the sub-Saharan rock love.
Tinariwen is another one of these groups who blend solid electric guitar with local rhythms and song in a successful mix. Their music falls somewhere between North African traditional music, Malian blues and contemporary sub-Saharan rock n roll.
The ten members of Tinariwen are Touareg, a stateless nomadic people from the southern Sahara who have historically been caught somewhere between the borders of the Sahel and North Africa. Many of them are based in present-day Mali where they’ve been oppressed and/or ignored by the Malian government for years.
When time came for the Touaregs to give the finger to Mali and fight for independence Algeria stepped in and promised weapons and support. Ghadaffi also promised them their own state, or at least some form of autonomy in the south of his country and the north of Mali, following a successful revolution. However, always one to make a hollow promise, Ghadaffi duped the Touaregs. They quickly realized that he was just using them as pawns in his own pursuits to gain more territory.
Tinariwen’s music has become the unofficial soundtrack for the Touareg revolution against both Algeria and Mali. Their music has been banned in both countries. They sing about resistance, exile and future independence, and also play a mean guitar.
Formed in 1982, Tinariwen have just recently started to record albums for wide-release. Their 2001 album The Radio Tisdas Sessions did very well, giving the group as well as the Touareg’s plight much media attention. This year they released a second album, even better than the first in my opinion, Amassakoul. You’ll find a track from each in today’s post.
Tinariwen – Chet Boghassa
Tinariwen – Afours Afours
saw them play four times in Paris over the summer– free concerts in the park. Fantastic- and then went home and turned on the national nightly news on TV– there they were again!
I think it also right to point out that the Touaregs reached a peace agreement with the Malian government in 1996, since which time many of the former rebels have been brought into the government and even the armed forces of Mali. The peace appears to be holding well, despite the inevitable problem of the odd rebel who still has his gun and has now turned to armed banditry. Reflecting this, most of the songs on Tinariwen’s recent album are about reconciliation, building for the future, and everyday problems of living in a desert, although the music has lost none of its power.
Tinariwen, fantastic! I had only heard a single song of theirs before today, but now I have the pleasure of knowing three. A great pick!
i saw them playing with Taj Mahal in London this year,
fantastic!
Very nice site. Per Louise above, Tinariwen are quite popular in Mali, and indeed, record in Bamako. To claim that their music is banned, is, well, not quite right.
True, true. I didn’t word the post very well. Thanks for the comments/corrections. Mali is a different place now…
I’m going to see Tinariwen next month in the UK, on the African Soul Rebels tour, where they’re billed alongside Daara-J and Rachid Taha. Thanks so much for introducing me to their music.
[...] Tinariwen, the Tuareg band I’ve featured at least once on this site, appears on this release. The track is typical of their style with smooth Sahel guitars, Tuareg/Western fused rhythms and laid-back singing. More on Tinariwen here and here. [...]