After 2023’s Amatssou, the collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of southern Algeria and of northern Mali return with a 10th LP iteration of their signature desert blues style sung in Tamasheq, and joined this time by younger younger musicians from the bands Imarhan and Terakaft, as well as guests José González and Sulafa Elyas. As always they are fierce, defiant advocates of the Tuareg lifestyle and related human rights, and this latest collection, in a backdrop of deepening crisis in the region, especially north Mali, harks back to their early years of songwriting with acoustic guitars and communal singing around the desert campfire. Three of the group’s founding members – Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni and Touhami Ag Alhassane are joined for the first time in 25 years by returning co-founder Diarra. The album takes its title from the Hoggar mountain range, visible at great distance to nomadic tribes across the Central Saharan desert. It’s a s symbol of homeland and freedom. Opener Amidinim Ehaf Solan is a slow, mournful call about Tuareg fortunes. Imidiwan Takyadam interwines the gentle tones of José González contrast with the deep, almost Captain Beefheart growl of Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, calling out the “hellish tyranny” of Islamist misogyny, highlighted by a female chorus lamenting the plight of their sisters. Aba Malik is a protest song about the Russian mercenaries who have invaded their land - in particular the violent Wagner Group – “curse you Wagner/ Curse your mother!”. A tragic, vivid, chilling blues lamentation comes on the apocalyptic Erghad Afeweto, describing Tuaregs’ desert lands on fire and populated only by “the orphaned child and the rotting carcasses of the herds.” There a lighter moments in the form of the traditional folk song Sagherat Assan, featuring Sudanese chanteuse Sulafa Elyas, while there’s a tongue-in-cheek side to Khay Erilan which translates as “new model” - and shines a playful light on Tuareg campfire dreams of owning the latest Toyota Landcruiser, a lighthearted echo of Janis Joplin’s (Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a) Mercedes Benz?. Light relief from the dark, and powerful subject matter in hand - overall another strong and very important release by Tinawiren, out on Wedge Records.
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