Tinariwen Aman Iman: Water is Life (World Village)

-By Paul Weideman

The “desert blues rock” of the Touareg band Tinariwen has not been slickened by world tours (including Santa Fe gigs in 2004 and 2005).  The music on Aman Iman is loose and gripping, with outstanding string play by multiple guitarists and it’s rendered beautifully by producer Justin Adams.  The opener “Cler Achel,” features bouncy licks by guitarist Ibrahim Ag Alhabb, who also has composer credit on most of the songs.  It’s a driving tune with call-and-response vocals and (as on several songs) the wild, warbling sound of ululation in the background “Mano Dayak,” a tribute to the Touareg author and freedom fighter, begins like a folk song before breaking into a bluesy chant.  Tinariwen is idiosyncratically democratic and here four people take turns on lead vocals and guitar.  The band’s membership is also flexible: on “Ahimana” one of its founders, Mohammed Ag Itale, returns to take the lead.  The song offers pulses of contrasting male and female vocals over throbbing bass and hypnotic drumming.  The tune “Assouf” take its name from a word for loneliness, nostalgia, or homesickness, but it’s a pretty rockin’ number, complete with wah-wah guitar.  On Aman Iman Tinariwen keeps its original troubadour role alive following a long period of drought and political unrest in Mali.  The lyrics focus on exile, bravery, unity, the mystery of the desert and the preciousness of water.  It’s also great music.