Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (Reis)

Group Inerane | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sublime Frequencies
• ASIN: B001EIK7O6
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,777 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Kuni Majagani

2. Awal September [Live]

3. Ano Nagarus [Live]

4. Tenerte [Live]

5. Nadan al Kazawnin [Live]

6. Telilite [Live]

7. Tenere Etran [Live]

8. Ikab Kabau [Live]

9. Ashal Wali Tigeli [Live]

10. Kamu Talyat [Live]

Editorial Reviews

By popular demand, this is the CD reissue of the second Sublime Frequencies vinyl release (the limited LP release sold out almost immediately upon release in 2007). Group Inerane is the now sound of the Tuareg Guitar Revolution sweeping across the Sahara Desert and inspired by the rebel musicians that started this music as a political weapon used to communicate from the Libyan Refugee camps in the 1980s and 1990s. Spearheaded by the enigmatic guitar hero Bibi Ahmed, Group Inerane has been together for several years and carries the rich tradition of Tamachek guitar songs for another generation. These ten tracks are a combination of amplified roots rock, blues, and folk in the local Tuareg styles, at times entering into full-on electric guitar psychedelia. This music is performed with two electric guitars, a drum kit and a chorus of vocalists. The recordings were captured live in the city of Agadez in the Republic of Niger. Group Inerane was also featured in the Sublime Frequencies DVD Niger: Magic and Ecstasy in the Sahel. Recorded by Hisham Mayet, this CD reissue includes an 8-page insert with photos of the musicians and liner notes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are You Ready for Some Raw Desert Blues?, May 13, 2009

By 

B. Heying (Luxemburg) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (Reis) (Audio CD)

If you like the "Desert Blues" sound of bands such as Tinariwen, you may very well like this recording. However," Guitars from Agadez", unlike Tinariwen, is not the sound of a high-end studio recording. It's more live and rawer sounding; kind of like a Fat Possum take on desert blues. The grooves are also not as varied as Tinariwen. After repeated listening however, I have come to appreciate a sort of stylistic purity that "Guitars from Agadez" offers. I also like the fact that a western-style drum set is featured as the main percussion instrument. One can really get a feel for how the traditional rhythms of the Sahara translate to the drum kit. However, one drawback to this recording are those cheering type sounds that Bedouin women make (kind of like a turkey call) that punctuates every stanza. I wish I knew what the proper cultural name for what that noise is and what it means, but I don't. You get some of that same yelling with Tinariwen, but there's quite a bit of that in "Guitars from Agadez." That aside, the guitar work is the real strong point to this recording. You get plenty of those bluesy trance-inducing licks. All in all, a great addition to your "Desert Blues" collection.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, July 9, 2009

By 

Onegin (Portland OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (Reis) (Audio CD)

I came to this via Tinariwen, whose disc I love, and whose hypnotic performance at Coachella this year blew me away. This disc is much rawer and more lo-fi than Tinariwen's, and to my ears, less interesting. I'm all for unadorned "on location" recordings, but the playing and sound quality on this one didn't do it for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars desert drone psychedelica, September 28, 2010

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Francis Patsen "meltmaster" (Aurora, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (Reis) (Audio CD)

This album is amazing. It's been awhile since I've been as obsessed with an album like this. It is the blues, it is psychedelic, it has a drone quality reminiscent of some krautrock. It is a real treasure. I'm sure it's not for everyone. But this drives and takes me places, like Faust or Maggot Brain. Dry, hot with a very very deep groove. Not as in a funk groove, but as in a spiritual groove.