Tinariwen - Then and Now

Tinariwen sounds just like the deserts they are named for, hard-baked and rough as sand-scoured stone. It's the natural product of decades of life for this amorphous collective of Touareg nomads—living in and out of exile, surviving (and sometimes fighting in) people's revolutions, and finding time in between to put their tribes' lives and experiences into songs. Crossing earthy percussion and call-and-answer chants with electric bass and dusty-toned guitar, it's simply a sound as gritty and primal as their existence itself.

Tinariwen
Kel Tinariwen
Wedge
2022

Although the wider world only began discovering them after the turn of the century, the group's roots go back to the late '70s, when the founders met and played throughout the Sahara—first starting as an anonymous traveling troupe, which gathered the informal nickname of Kel Tinariwen ("people of the deserts"). It was mid-1991 when a quartet of members made a trip to an Ivory Coast studio for their first official recording, which gave the group an important second wind as cassettes and word of mouth spread through the region.

Its worldwide reissue makes for a fairly startling time capsule, somewhat like their equivalent of early basement tapes—except that where most bands start out sounding their roughest, this archive recording is actually the most slick-sounding one under the Tinariwen name. They couldn't pass up the chance to play with some early synthesizers and drum machines which were doubtlessly cutting-edge at the time. Importantly, those things are only dressing over a series of heartfelt performances.

True, it can feel a bit odd for songs of struggle to feel like they were produced for commercial appeal. Hopefully the novelty helped the band's messages hit harder with their homegrown (or rather wilderness-grown) audience at the time. To 21st-century ears, the genuine fire behind the voices is more the main thing. This one ends up as something of a historical oddity in terms of the band's sound, even if that makes it no less a vital piece of their history.

Tinariwen
Amatssou
Self produced
2023

With three decades' distance from their recording debut, the Tinariwen of Amatssou is just as passionate and more unflinchingly raw than ever. This one was recorded in a tent studio assembled on the open plateau, with Western players Daniel Lanois, Fats Kaplin and Wes Corbett contributing roots-country backing parts from the opposite hemisphere (thanks to pandemic restrictions). Improvised recording setup or not, it's clear enough that you can't mistake the grit and dust. These grungy clapping chants put you right there next to the campfire amidst the rock formations and sand and stars.

Appropriately enough for a work by a gang of lifelong rebels, this title means "beyond the fear." They pull no punches in condemning those who terrorize and are just as fervent singing messages of unity. The simple chants get a variety of subtle shadings, from Lanois' almost- ambient, ghostly slide-guitar to some high-and-lonesome scratching violin—even a little banjo to draw a natural link between their variety of desert blues and the Western kind. As always, the tones feel as immediate as the earth itself, there's no mistaking the simple purity at heart, and the whole is rich and captivating.

Tracks and Personnel

Kel Tinariwen

Tracks: À L'Histoire; Khedou Khedou; Adounia Tarha; Matadjem Yinmexan; Awa Idjan War Infa Iman; Sendad Eghlalan; Sendad Eghlalan; Arghane Manine.

Personnel: Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni, Hassan Ag Touhami, Kedou Ag Ossad, Liya Ag Ablil: guitars & vocals.

Amatssou

Tracks: Kek Alghalm; Tenere Den; Arajghiyine; Imzad (Interlude); Tidjit; Jayche Atarak; Imidiwan Mahitinam; Ezlan; Anemouhagh; Iket Adjen; Nak Idnizdjam; Tinde (Outro).

Personnel: Imbrahim Ag Alhabib: lead vocals, lead guitars (3, 5, 6, 9, 11); Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni: lead vocals, lead guitar (1, 8, 10); Alhassane Ag Alhousseyni: lead vocals, lead guitar (2, 7); Eyadou Ag Leche: bass, claps, background vocals, electric guitar (2, 7); Elaga Ag Hamid: guitars, background vocals, claps; Said Ag Hamid: djembe, calebasse, derbouka, background vocals, claps; Hicham Bouhasse: guitar, percussion; Amar Chaoui: percussion; Miloudi Mad Chaghli: luth; Daniel Lanois: pedal steel guitar, piano, additional production (3, 6); Fats Kaplin: pedal steel guitar (8, 9, 11); banjo (9); violin (2, 8); Wes Corbett: banjo (1).