The Festival in the Desert
Review by Simon Broughton

Sadly I wasn’t there, but everyone who was says it was unforgettable. A festival amongst Touareg nomads under a myriad stars on silken sand dunes near Timbuktu. There’s something spacey, laid-back and hypnotic about the music, which occasionally breaks like a wave into thrilling ululations. Most of the artists were local – from Mali, Niger, Mauritania – but some intrepid souls ventured from further afield including veteran rocker Robert Plant. He duets with guitarist Justin Adams and they sound like they’ve been breathing deeply the desert air. All the music is magnificent with delicate desert lutes, blistering electric guitars and Malian stars like Ali Farka Touré, Oumou Sangaré and the French outfit Lo’ Jo who got the whole thing started two years ago. Somehow they brought in a 24-track mobile studio to record it in atmospheric detail. Close your eyes and you can almost imagine yourself there. On this evidence the festival will go from strength to strength.