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Tinariwen lays down its arms
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mp3.com, Tinariwen lays down its arms >>
By: Jim Welte
Formed out of Gaddafi's guerrilla training camps in the 80s, West African band brings the Sahara desert to the world. On the outskirts of Timbuktu in the West African nation of Mali, there is a huge monument featuring hundreds of melted guns of all shapes and sizes, from Kalashnikovs to handguns. Dubbed the Flame of Peace, the monument symbolizes the 1996 ceasefire between the Tuareg rebel groups from the Sahara desert and the government of the West African nation of Mali with whom they'd been warring for years. But while the Flame of Peace is a visual reminder to the people of Timbuktu of its violent past and peaceful present, Tinariwen delivers that story to the world in the form of hypnotic, electric guitar-laden desert blues. Formed out of Muammar al-Gaddafi's Libyan guerilla training camps in the 1980s, Tinariwen literally laid down its arms and picked up guitars. Tinariwen has spearheaded a growing music community in the northern part of West Africa, and in 2001 it launched the Festival in the Desert, which has drawn loads of African stars over the years and even the likes of Robert Plant. Tinariwen has also taken the story of its homeland on the road throughout Europe and North America over the past five years. Earlier this month, Tinariwen released Aman Iman (Water for Life), its third studio album. Band leader and frontman Ibrahim Ag Alhabib sat down for an email interview with MP3.com.
How does this new album compare to your previous releases, Amassakoul and Radio Tisda Sessions?
It's really a continuation. Radio Tisdas was like a snapshot of the raw desert sound, recorded very quickly in difficult circumstances. Amassakoul was our first real experience of the studio, but it ended up with a compromise, because we were still very inexperienced. With Aman Iman we really took the time to prepare the recording, first with our live sound engineer Jaja in our little rehearsal studio in Kidal, and then with Justin Adams in Bamako. It was great working with Justin, because he really understands desert music, and because he has a good ear and was always picking out little ideas and getting us to work them up into something more definite and effective. There was also the sound engineer who managed to give our sound more space and more quality, without loosing the rawness that is its essential ingredient.
Is there an overriding theme or message on the new album?
Now that we no longer only play in the desert, but all over the world, I suppose we try and communicate an overriding theme which is our love for our desert home, and for the culture of the Tamashek, but also to raise awareness of all the problems and all the suffering which still exist in that part of the world. Having said that, Aman Iman is a collection of songs with different themes ... often to do with the pain and longing of exile, into which Tinariwen's music was born. But there are also songs about love, about unity and about the mysteries of the desert.
What has this recent surge in popularity for you been like? Have you enjoyed touring in Europe and the US?
Popularity is of course a dream for any musician. From our earliest days we always wanted to travel and see different parts of the world. So now that we're doing just that, it's not the moment to complain! The touring is hard sometimes, as it is for all musicians. It's intense and tiring, but we'd rather be where we are now than still living in obscurity in the desert, trying to make ends meet.
How have the dynamics of the band changed in the past 2-3 years?
Not much. Tinariwen is made up of two generations ... the founders who fought in the rebellion, and a younger generation who were only children when the rebellion happened but who are all well into their twenties now. That's been the dynamic since 2001, when we did our first proper tour of Europe. It's a very positive thing, because there's a continuity there which will hopefully mean that Tinariwen can still exist when we, the founders, are too old and can't take the pressure.
Why do you think the desert blues has become more popular in recent years?
I don't really know. The music from the desert, and from places like Gao and Timbuktu on the Niger river, has a historical link with the blues and with rock 'n roll. Maybe people hear an echo of something they know so they feel comfortable with the music. And the guitar is popular the whole world over.
Have you been approached by other artists, specifically those outside of Mali, to work together? Who?
Yes, we've had requests from quite a few other artists. Many of them aren't that well known. To be honest I'm not very good with names either. But we like working with other artists. It's an education for us.
Is there a band/artist that you would most like to work with?
I'd love to work with Santana, because he was a favorite of mine, and of all my friends, since he was a teenager. I'd also like to work with Bob Dylan, but he must be very busy.
Could you talk about the legacy of Ali Farka Toure, who passed away a year ago?
Ali Farka Toure was a great artist, and an important influence on all the music of northern Mali. In the 1970s he proved that you could take very old traditional melodies and play them on the modern guitar. That was a big discovery. We all owe him a lot.
Do you see yourselves as ambassadors of Mali and West Africa in general?
No, we see ourselves as ambassadors of the Tamashek people and of the desert in general. That's our role now. In the 1980s our role was to raise awareness in the desert itself, to make people confront their problems and see them in context. That's what we're trying to do on a global scale now.
Do you plan to tour again this year?
We're just about to embark on a 54 date tour of Europe, and we're coming back in the summer to do all the European festivals. Then we're going to North America in November.
Great. Well thank you very much for doing this and we look forward to seeing you when you come this way on tour.
Yes, thank you very much. 04/08/07 >> go there
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