|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Mojo, CD Review >>
MOJO WORKING
IN THE STUDIO THIS MONTH...
Tinariwen
Title: Aman Iman (Water Is The Soul)
Due: January 2007
Production: Justin Adams
Songs: Cler Achel, Matadjem Yinmixan, Ahimana, Imidiwan Winakalin, Assouf, Izarar, Tenere
It started like a Tuareg Big Brother, with Mali's fiercest guitar band taking refuge 1,200km fromt heir Saharan homes in Kidal in a flat near Bogolan Studios, Bamako. As the band discussed the final tracklisting of an album for which they had worked up 25 songs over three months' rehearsals, old friends would drop by.
Rejoining the band for the first time since 2002 was Mohammed Ag Itale (aka Japonais — Tuaregs who were active in the guerrilla rebellion of the 1990s still use their noms de guerre), who left after deciding that touring was not for him. Other visitors included Foy Foy, a former guitarist turned soldier, Acherif, one of the leaders of the uprising, and a young Tuareg police constable who didn't seem to mind the presence of bags of fresh weed ("About the size of Muhammad Ali's fist and costing one pound," according to the band's British manager).
Much of the pre-studio preparation was spent hanging around, eating stews cooked by the group's two new female vocalists, Wounou Walet Sidati and Kesa Walet Hamid, and drinking gunpowder tea, lermented ginger concoctions or Bamako wine, while the visitors reminded the musicians that they were not ju.st recording an album but representing Tuareg culture. "At first, the plan was to record in Kidal," explains Ibrahim Ag Alhabih (aka Abaravbone), "but it was too
expensive to take equipment through the Sahara. Although we don't feel like Bamako is our home, we recorded our second album, Amassakoul, in Bogolan, and Mali is still preferable to recording in
Europe."
Tapes are passed around and studied. Amussdkoul, they now think, sounds inauthentic. The percussionist. Said Ag Ayad, smiles as he holds up a MiniDisc that he thinks is how they should be heard. It starts like Sister Ray, then mutates into Sonic Youth. It's Tinariwen performing at a nomad camp. "That is how we play when we are with our people." "The hardest thing has been getting everybody to peak together," admits producer Justin Adams. "Ibrahim has needed to rest a lot; with Japonais you need to make sure he's relaxed and just about coherent. There are arguments between the two, the kind of spats that are typical of two old mates who have been through exile, poverty and different musical experiences together. Behind heated words is mutual respect."
Japonais has just unveiled Ahimana, five minutes of raw blues with improvised lyrics on the tribal origins of the band's members. As he finished, the band burst into applause and laughter. As a mark of his esteem, Abdallah (aka Catastrophe) presented Japonais with his own guitar. But there is no room for sentimentality in the Sahara: Japonais had it pawned almost immediately David Hutcheon
ThaBuzz: "Think the Stones in 1965 or The Clash in '77. Energetic, honest rock'n'roll. This is a rock record." -Justin Adams
-David Hutcheon
11/01/06
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
