ALARM’s Top Ten Albums of 2007

Tinariwen: Aman Iman (Water is Life)
The members of Tinariwen, a musical collective formed among the nomadic Touareg people, have been through arduous journeys. Having their music reach the Western world is an accomplishment in its own right, albeit one that pales in comparison to overcoming exile and internment.

Aman Iman (Water is Life), sung in French and Tamashek, chronicles those hardships as well as death and drought, political ignorance, and tribal rivalries. Some songs are haunting and slow, some sound almost like American blues, and some are vigorous folk-rock songs that never stray from their African roots. All songs have a steady beat of hand drums and a chorus of women and children in the background that leave listeners crestfallen for tribes snuffed out by the modern world.

By: Jamie Ludwig