Like many of you I suspect I have been thoroughly enjoying Ernie's African Odyssey over at 27 Leggies
It is a hugely ambitious project with Ernie planning on featuring music and info from all 54 African countries. 11 weeks in and he is still working his way through the C's. Therefore it is going to be a wee while before he gets as far as Mali. I'm just putting it out there but if he doesn't feature Tinariwen he is likely to have a riot on his hands.
Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of Northern Mali who have steadily gained international recognition releasing 9 albums since 2001 all featuring their Desert Blues trademark style.
Their 4th album Aman Iman: Water is Life from 2007 on the World Village label is the final one from my recent Missing Records 3 for £5 deal although it was the first of the three which I picked up.
As with most if not all of their albums it was critically well received with most ratings in the 4/5 region.
Joe Tangari on Pitchfork writes the music of Tinariwen is at once exotic and familiar-- the scales and arrangements are as strange to our ears as the language they sing in, but there's a force operating on a more subliminal level that unites it to something rattling around inside anyone who was brought up on blues or rock & roll. It's music of longing and rebellion, weary wisdom and restless energy, and it sounds so, so good. Don't let it pass you by.
I don't think I need to add anything else
"If he doesn't feature Tinariwen he is likely to have a riot on his hands"? Fighting talk, Mr Charity So-Called Chic.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, we will be well into next year by the time I get to Mali but it is entirely possible Tinariwen won't feature. They are magnificent but so are a lot of other less well known acts from Mali who also deserve a hearing.
Fair enough. Seems reasonable.
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