Tassili

Tinariwen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 29, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Anti Records
• ASIN: B0055WXHO4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,572 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > World Music > Africa > Mali
  • #3 in Music > World Music > Middle East > General
  • #3 in Music > World Music > Middle East > General AAS

Track Listings

1. IMIDIWAN MA TENNAM (feat. Nels Cline)

2. ASUF D ALWA

3. TENERE TAQQIM TOSSAM (feat. Tunde Adebimpe & Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio)

4. YA MESSINAGH (feat. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)

5. WALLA ILLA

6. TAMEYAWT

7. IMIDIWAN WIN SAHARA

8. TAMIDITIN TAN UFRAWAN

9. ADEN OSAMNAT

10. TENIDAGH HEGH DJEREDJERE

11. SWEGH ATTAY

Editorial Reviews

2011 release from this band of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Features collaborations with Nels Cline, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something new, something old September 2, 2011

By K. D. Kelly

Format:Audio CD

Just as it took a bitter, misguided war to kick-start the Summer of Love, Tinariwen was born out of refugee camps in North Africa in the early 1980s during a prolonged period of unrest.

This band of genuine nomads turned rebel fighters might never have made it out of the desert and onto the world stage if French band Lo'Jo hadn't caught Tinariwen performing at a festival in Mali in 1998 (eight years after it had returned to its homeland from exile) and invited the musicians on tour. Since then, championed by the likes of Robert Plant and Carlos Santana, the band has received numerous awards and accolades, and stands at the forefront of desert blues.

Not bad for a band that didn't acquire its first acoustic guitar until 1979, and for years after would perform for free for anyone who had a blank cassette and was willing to record the performance to share with others -- basically YouTube without the Internet.

Tinariwen -- which means "empty spaces" or "deserts" in its Tuareg tongue -- has grown into an ever-evolving collective with a handful of core members, which helps its sound stay fresh. On its fifth studio release, "Tassili," the band expands its horizons further with guest artists Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio), Nels Cline (Wilco) and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. All are musicians at the top of their creative game.

It was a clever move by Tinariwen's new label, Anti-, to bring these guests into the mix, as it may help the band acquire a wider fan base. As well, "Tassili" features the band's first song with English lyrics, "Tenere Taqqim Tossam."

But even if Tinariwen never becomes a superstar, the accompaniment of these outside influences on roughly half of the tracks proves a great compliment to its soulful, spacious brand of blues. This is, thankfully, in part to the guest musicians submitting to Tinariwen's will. Make no mistake, Tinariwen commands this throne.

To be sure, the brass utterances on "Ya Messinagh" are a shock at first, but the New Orleans jazz perfectly compliments the stark, thirsty strains coming from the band's many guitars, the clip-clop of a tired camel from a percussionist, and the haunting vocals of bandleader Ibrahim Ag Alhabib.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeper Roots, Deeper Blues September 7, 2011

By Dr. Debra Jan Bibel TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Before I listened to the album, I read the provided English translations of the lyrics, and they immediately created a mood. The desert, the need of water, the lament of disunity, loneliness, the displacement from home, the various sufferings all well up in the songs. Yes, the blues. Musician Ibrahim Ag Alhabib observes, "Even if I laugh with my mouth, my heart is bleeding." When Tinariwen burst upon the global music scene a decade ago, it was a fresh and unexpected sound. Here was bright desert electric guitar blues of nomads from the Sahara, the blue-clad Tuareg or Kel Tamashek, who for a while fled war from Mali into Algeria and Libya, from desert into town or camp, a minority who longed for recognition and a stake in the economy. The musical group later expanded their electric world music, exploring rap and reggae and other styles, touring the globe. Other Tuareg musicians soon formed their own groups and approaches. In this new recording, Tinariwen at times drops the glittering guitars and returns to acoustics. Even when electrified, the guitar work is staccato and subdued. We regard a more roots-driven album with a sadness in the voice and a clap of rhythm, not of joy. The only surprise is the fourth track where the trumpet and saxophones of the Dirty Dozen Band provide ornamentation. You can hardly notice, as they mainly play long note bass harmony. The camel-swaying beat is mesmerizing, and the human condition cries out. This is a wonderful development for Tinariwen. This is a very fine album.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I heard this playing in a store... December 4, 2011

By R. Stalker

Format:Audio CD

When I first heard this music it was playing overhead in a store. I was not focusing on it but I noticed how I felt, and was almost dancing as I walked. I went to the counter and bought it. Whatever it was I wanted it. It is beyond words.