2023-06-19 08:27:52
The Tinariwen group, 2023. © Marie Planeille
Who said deserts don’t meet? Certainly not the members of the mythical Tuareg group Tinariwen. Amatssou, their 9th album celebrates the musical meeting of the nomads of the Sahara and the cowboys of the Far West. A majestic journey, faithful to their identity, and engaged in the confines of the blues.
Amatssou, the title of their new album, means “beyond fear” in Tamashek. An outdated fear in the face of words that overwhelm their people, of which these committed musicians have been a torch around the world for thirty years. “We have so many problems! It’s important to talk regarding it, we don’t have the social networks, we don’t have the media that can talk regarding what is happening at home, so we are here with our music” , explains Abdellah ag Alhousseini, one of the founding members of the group, a pioneer of assouf music (which means nostalgia in Tamashek). On this new album, a catchy song like Iket Adjen tackles the difficulties of the daily life of the Tuaregs.
These problems are of course the dangers linked to the presence of jihadists in the Sahel and to all the prohibitions they have to face. “It’s been a long time since things like music or even smoking have been prevented from us. It’s getting worse and worse, hence the name of this album”, continues moved Saïd ag Ayad, percussionist and choirs of the group.
This is one of the reasons why this new album was recorded in Djanet, a desert oasis in southern Algeria located in the Tassili N’Ajjer National Park. A place that remains secure for the Europeans (especially their manager and sound engineer) who are an integral part of the team, Tinariwen tells us.
Detour of America
However, this disc with captivating sounds, produced by Canadian guitarist and singer Daniel Lanois (Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Bob Dylan, U2) was originally to be recorded in America, in Nashville. Due to the pandemic, the artists worked remotely.
Tinariwen thus first recorded these twelve very blues pieces, like the chant Nak Idnizdjam, some of which were then adorned by American musicians and by Daniel Lanois, with banjos, violins and pedal steel guitars, emblematic instruments American folk music.
“We asked American musicians for simple things. We were above all looking for encounters. That an artist might come to a piece and find something to play on it”, recalls Saïd ag Ayad. “Connections were made, they put in a few violin and banjo sounds and that’s it”, explains Abdellah ag Alhousseini, very attached to ensuring that we do not deduce that Amatssou is a disc American.
A happy collaboration which, without distorting Tinariwen’s music, gives it a little friction, a sometimes hovering sound, which flirts with trance on tracks such as Arajghiyine and on Jayche Atarak. As for the songs Tenere Den et This is they are accompanied by the fiery guitar, sometimes blues sometimes country, of New York multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin.
The mix is subtle, not always present and perfectly successful. An alchemy which is explained spontaneously according to Saïd ag Ayad. “Tuareg music and American music are close. When you meet American artists, you feel like you know each other following only three or four minutes of playing together.” Rural America is also regarding wide open spaces, a certain -relative- idea of freedom and also a musical rapprochement for the group, through American blues, rock and country music, Tinariwen explains.
But this record is above all a very Tuareg sound, a tribute to this musical heritage and also to women. Witness Tinde, a traditional song performed by Aïcha, a singer from Djanet. A way for Tinariwen to recall that in Tuareg culture, most music is played by women. A tradition of which they are proud, but which is becoming scarce in particular because of the exile of the population of the Sahel, and which they fear will eventually disappear from this desert in which these tireless ambassadors would like to be able to invite their Western audience one day. . “We would like you to be able to come to us as we come to yours. We are looking for peace”, explains Saïd ag Ayad.
Tinariwen Amatssou (Wedge) 2023
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