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Recommended Section: Tinariwen
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Austin Chronicle, Recommended Section: Tinariwen >>
Possessing a Tinariwen cassette used to be illegal in Mali, the band's West African country of origin.
"The Malian government doesn't give us any problems right now,"declares Tinariwen's singer/guitarist Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. "They still don't help us, but at least they don't bother us."
Why would a country renowned for its musical culture like Mali ban the stark sounds of nomadic Berber tribesmen from the Sahara? Formed byrebels in 1982, Tinariwen (teen-AH-ree-when) sings about the dispossessed, how the violence of colonialism and its bastard child, nationalism, affect traditional life. Its songs were secretly passed around on cassette until 2000, when their electric guitar-driven debut, The Radio Tisdas Sessions, hit like a sandstorm.
The title of its successful follow-up, 2004's Amassakoul - which Alhousseyni describes as "a much more careful piece of work" -translates as "traveler." Fitting for a band that's taken provincial music literally around the world. What's more, Tinariwen draws international audiences to a remote part of the Sahara for Le Festivalau Désert. Why hold a music festival in a place so secluded that portable generators are needed?
"The Festival is like a window in what was before a blank wall," says Alhousseyni. "It brings people to a region. ... They all live together in the same place with no problems. So it's a symbol of peace, of live and let live. Ignorance is such a huge contributor to conflict and war.
"It works: Tinariwen's message has won over Damon Albarn, Taj Mahal, Manu Chao, Patti Smith, and Robert Plant. "People may not understandour lyrics," explains Alhousseyni, "but rhythm, melody, and feel can already say a lot."
That's putting it mildly, as their call-and-response choruses, pentatonic meltdowns, and serpentine rhythms possess the power of Mother Africa herself. Or, as Alhousseyni says of the band's musical tastes: "We all love the blues."
David Lynch 04/06/06 >> go there
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