Fans of the desert blues of Northwest Africa, principally Mali and the Sahara lands, and the music of Ali Farka Toure and Tinariwen, will find this double LP of “The Godfather of Tuareg Music,” Abdallah Oumbadougou, the innovative late guitarist, essential. It’s not only for its music but for the intriguing biographical information in the liner notes and the lyrics translated into three languages. We will leave those rich biographical details to you but set the stage with this capsule summary.
Oumbadougou is a seminal figure in what we in the West have termed “Desert Blues” or “Tuareg rock,” since the early nineties. The genre was originally known as assouf, which means ‘longing’, ‘nostalgia’, ‘the pain that isn’t physical’ in Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg; a large and diverse group of peoples that inhabit the Sahara in a vast area across northwest Africa. “Amghar,” a Berber term for a tribal chief, is a reference to the artist’s role in shaping this culture, apropos of Oumbadougou’s legendary status as an instrumentalist, narrator, and a worthy rock guitar hero. Paramount to all those descriptors, he was a cultural leader. Oumbadougou’s early work was instrumental in influencing current successful Tuareg musicians such as Mdou Moctar, Bombino, and Tinariwen.
Oumbadougou was one of the original voices of a desert rebellion, as heard on most of the 14 tracks in this collection, and he established his group of musicians under the name Takrist Nakal, which means “rebuilding of the country.” His music differs slightly as it’s more upbeat, has more ornamentation, and by its loping, rolling rhythms is less trance-like than Tinariwen but just as infectious in its own way. In this region of Africa, the two bands formed a lasting friendship and are inseparable in the same sense that the Beatles and Rolling Stones are about the British Invasion. Vol. 1 sequences with classic and previously unreleased material, the latter recorded in the studio in this millennium’s first decade.
The previously unreleased single, “Le Iwitian Ourgueza Gueakelen” with its engaging guitar riffs, circular rhythms, and joyous chanting is a prime example of “the godfather’s” pioneering desert blues sound where lyrics speak to “dividing our people.” It may seem ironic that the tune comes across so joyously, but it might be best to think of it in the same kind of terms as the Negro Spirituals, the oppressed finding a release through song. A huge choir of voices imbues live tracks such as “Afrikya” a tune with searing electric guitar and the opening verse “The African revolt is a fire ablaze.” While one may initially term this raw and primitive, Oumbadougou likens the struggle to Vietnam and Ireland in the closing verse, revealing a worldwide awareness that extends far beyond the desert. In the previously unreleased “Wirthin Titiwe Tehi Higren” the leader begins with a stomping guitar and foot-tapping rhythms that chug along unrelentingly as he pleas for unity of his people in combatting the injustice. One can easily envision it as a soundtrack to a scene of marching rebels, enthusiastic about their cause.
Surely, as with any desert blues, to many Western ears, these tracks become a bit tiresome, mostly through the repetitive rhythms and chanting vocals. The guitar playing is intriguing throughout and for those who want to delve into this musical document, the historical context explained in the liners and the accompanying lyrics have utmost value too.
