Music Review: Saharan musicians erase borders with rock music

February 11, 2010

Anna Norris

Staff Writer

Dive Verdict: 4 of 5 Stars

The promotion for Tinariwen’s record should read like an advertisement for a hotel or restaurant: Come for the attention-grabbing exotic singing, stay for the accessibility of rock ’n’ roll.

Made up of four members of the nomadic Touareg tribe which populates the southern Sahara, Tinariwen have said that they seek to capture the spirit and voice of their desert homeland. Certainly they have created some kind of wild force through their blending of traditional African melodies with modern elements of electric guitar-fueled blues and rock.

The sound of the electric guitar is a striking contrast with the ancient-sounding lyrics sung in their native Tamashek language. It would be easy for the guitar to overshadow the many facets of the album and overwhelm the traditional sounds. Instead Tinariwen wields it like a scalpel, delicately using it to soften the rough chanting and make them melodic, to weave around the singing and fill the empty space and replace the drums with choppy rhythmic chords.

Tinariwen isn’t a fan of chaos, and the majority of the songs are structured with a steady, percussive beat that doesn’t wave and intricately planned guitar that doesn’t thrive on spontaneity. But what’s ever-changing and attention-keeping is the powerful emotions and moods that Tinariwen provokes with the vocals.

All the members of Tinariwen have rich, expressive voices that can go from joyous to mournful in an instant. On “Assuf Ag Assuf” stripped-down singing echoes with sincerity while the electric guitar hauntingly mimics the rising and falling cadence of Ibrahim Ag Alhabib’s voice. “Tenhert” uses a hurried, guttural rapping with a harshness to reflect the unforgiving landscape that surrounds them.

In another instant, Tinariwen adds a women and children’s chorus, fleshing out its sound with joyous harmonies. Such backing vocals are sprinkled throughout the album, and when they pop up, it’s not unlike stumbling upon a desert oasis. Other effects like birdcalls and clapping and snapping as drum substitutes make for a multilayered and rich listening experience, belying any preconceptions about the Sahara being dry and barren.

It’s a case where having music in a physical rather than electronic format is a big plus, as the jacket provides a rough translation of the album’s lyrics, where the band reflects on nature, loss and love.

But even if you can’t understand what Tinariwen is saying, the passion that infuses the music and singing is a universal concept.