Domenica 29 Lug 2007, 12:32
It all started a few years ago. I had just read a book about the Tamashek. I know, most people know them as Tuareg but they call themselves Tamashek or Kel Tamasheq ('people of the Tamashek language') and that's the term I use. It's a matter of respect. (Don't worry, I won't start a 'Get your damn tags right' campaign ;) For no special reason I was curious how Tamashek sounds in comparison to Arabic for example. So I started googling … without much success. But then I had the brilliant idea of searching for music instead of recordings of spoken words. Much better! The search results directed me to the BBC recording of Tinariwen's performance at the WOMAD 2004 festival.
My first impression after listening to the one-hour performance: "Nice guitar playing but apart from that … ,uhm, quite exotic." However, over the next days I realized that the music didn't cease to linger in the back of my mind. So I returned two or three times to listen again with growing enjoyment. Finally I decided to get a copy of the Amassakoul and The Radio Tisdas Sessions albums. "Surely", I thought "there must be more music like Tinariwen's out there." So I also got a copy of the Festival in the Desert compilation in order to get an overview of the genre.
The song that aroused my interest more than the others of this compilation was the enigmatic Tihar Bayatin by Tartit, the only other well-known Tamashek group at that time. Although I generally prefer string music the energetic sound with no more ingredients but two tindé drums, handclaps and sort of a-cappella singing sparked my curiosity enough get the Ichichila album a month later. While guitars play the major role in the instrumental part of Tinariwen's music tindé drums and clapping dominate the sound of Tartit although they have a guitar, ngoni lutes (which the Tamashek call tehardent), and a one-string imzad violin that add variety to their sound. This is due to the fact that Tartit is mainly a female group while the majority of Tinariwen's members are male. Musical instruments are traditionally associated with genders in Tamashek culture. The tindé drum as well as the imzad violin are restricted to the women while the tazamart flute is restricted to men. Among the men who fought in the rebellion in the 90s the electric guitar has become the most popular instrument.
If you -like me- ever had the feeling that some of Tartit's song are a bit long and monotonous it's because you are missing something… . Tartit's performances often involve various kinds of dancing (sword dancing, seated dancing, etc). Many of the youyous (the trilling sound made by the women) and other shouts are actually responses to the dancers. You can see some of their dances on YouTube, Divano Production, Mondomix, or on the DVD Jusqu'à Tombouctou (available at Mondomix).
2006 and the first half of 2007 have brought us quite a lot of new Tamashek blues: Tinariwen and Tartit released their third album respectively Aman Iman: Water Is Life and Abacabok). Etran Finatawa, a mixed group of Tamashek and Woodabe (another nomadic ethnic group of the Sahel), have released their debut album Introducing Etran Finatawa. Paris-based Toumast have released Ishumar, Terakaft (the band of Khedou, a founding member of Tinariwen) released Bismilla - the Bko sessions, and the album Desert Rebel which features Takrist Nakal from Niger has been released, too.
So far I have talked about Tamashek blues but there is more to desert blues. In fact other ethnic groups of the west african Sahara and Sahel have developed their own styles.
Via In the Heart of the Moon I found my way to Ali Farka Touré who is surely the best known representative of the desert blues as a whole and the Songhai tradition in special. Sadly he passed away last year but his nephew Afel Bocoum has also made himself a name and Ali's son Vieux Farka Touré will surely do so in the future. Afel also participates with his band Alkibar in a collective called Desert Blues that also features Tartit and Habib Koité and his band Bamada (see also Habib Koité & Bamada) who represent the Bambara tradition from the south of Mali in this project. Desert Blues hasn't made an album yet but the afore-mentioned DVD Jusqu'à Tombouctou contains a documentation about the project, the three artists as well as a music video of each one.
The Bambara branch of desert blues is something that I have only recently begun to explore. Habib Koité's music was my entry point and so far I have looked (or listened to be more precisely;) closer to Boubacar Traoré aka 'Bambara Blues Man' and the ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyaté who has also played with Ali Farka Touré.
Still, there's much more desert blues to be explored. Where will the path lead to from here? Further south? Back into the Sahara? No idea, or as Lao Tzu said: "A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving."