Desert Blues April 2014

 

GEELONG MUSIC GROUP April 2014

 

‘DESERT BLUES’

 

I’m interested in how musics change as cultures and societies change and I’ve explored this process in at least three of my previous presentations: Sufi Music, Fusion Music and Monotony.

 

Tonight's presentation brings together elements that were in each of those three earlier ones. I hope that people who were present at one or more of them recognize some resonances; but that people who weren't will enjoy tonight's presentation in its own right.

 

The 2-3 million Tuareg people are the indigenous population of much of Central Sahara and the Sahel (Niger and Mali). Most Tuaregs (800,000) live in Saharan Mali, forming 10% of the population. Of the rest, most live in Saharan Niger and Algeria, with smaller populations in Burkina Faso and Libya.

The Tuaregs

 

Tuaregs are Berbers, not Arabs as many outsiders assume. (‘Berber’ is derived from the Roman term for barbarians, barbara.) Indeed, the Berbers resisted the 7th century Arab invasion strenuously, but eventually they converted to Islam. Many Berbers adopted Arabic as their language and assimilated into the Arab community. Now, most Tuaregs are Muslims, but Tuareg women rarely wear a veil, whereas men do. At the turn of the 21st century there were about 9,500,000 Berbers in Morocco, about 4,300,000 in Algeria, and smaller numbers in neighbouring countries.

 

In the early 12^th century, the Tuaregs founded the Malian city of Timbuktu as a seasonal camp and trading post on their Trans-Sahara caravan route; but later in the century, a Bedouin Arab invasion of coastal North Africa wrecked the peasant economy and many of the settled Berbers became nomads. Tuaregs adopted camel nomadism about 2,000 years ago, when the camel was introduced to the Sahara from Arabia. Subsequently, they ran camel caravans connecting the cities on the Southern Sahara to the Mediteranian coast. Today, forty years of persistent drought has forced many Tuaregs to forego nomadism. Tuaregs call the Sahara 'Tinariwen' ('the deserts'), because they regard it as many deserts, not just one.

	The Tuareg are sometimes called the "Blue People" because they dye their traditional robes and turbans with indigo that stains their skin dark blue. Now, Tuareg wear clothing in a variety of colors, but they still prefer traditional indigo turbans for celebrations.

 

 

 

 

Contemporary Tuareg music

Contemporary Tuareg music originated in refugee camps and military training camps associated with the region's continuing political instability. In southern Mali & Niger, Tuaregs have a history of rebellion against their domination by the lighter-skinned Berbers of the north; and since 2004, regional (and US) governments have exploited these rebellions to control Islamist militants.

 

In the 1980s Tuareg rebel fighters founded Tinariwen, a band that fuses electric guitars and indigenous musical styles. Tinariwen play a style of music that has been called 'Desert Blues' - a stripped down, bare music played on electric guitars in a pentatonic scale. The guitars always sound 'clean', with a slight echo and always played by flat-picking - there are few chords and little finger-picking. Rhythm is often marked by clapping and/or hand drums, rather than by western drum kits. 'Desert Blues' is an unconscious play on the Tuaregs' title of 'Blue People' - due to the indigo stains on their skin from their robes.

 

 

The roots of Desert Blues

Desert Blues is predominantly guitar based and its guitar style has four main influences or roots. First is the music of the Moorish 3- or 4-string tidinit. Tidinit music is characterised by harp-like swirls and percussive effects, which guitarists have transposed to the electric guitars of desert blues. Traditionally, the tidinit was played exclusively by the iherden, male poets/praise-singers/musicians who were the equivalent of the West African griot. In Desert Blues, however, the social status of the players is much broader, although they are still mostly male. Here is Dey (tidinit solo) by Dey Amartichitt.

TRACK ONE: Dey Amartichitt (1998) Dey (tidinit solo) from Praise Songs by Ooleya Mint Amartichitt. Long Distance. (1.59)

 

The second influence is the swirling waves of notes characteristic of the harp-like Malian kora. Here is Cheiknah Demba by Toumani Diabaté & Ballake Sissoko.

TRACK TWO: Toumani Diabaté & Ballake Sissoko (1999) 'Cheiknah Demba' from New Ancient Strings. Rykodisc. (4.31)

 

Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré is often called the godfather of Desert Blues and his self-taught style is the third influence on Desert Blues guitarists. Here is his Tangambara.

TRACK THREE: Ali Farka Touré (1990) 'Tangambara' from The River. World Circuit. (5.22)

 

The final influence on Desert Blues is a call-and-response style of singing that certainly isn't exclusive to the Sahara but does have a particular Arabic tinge. Here is an example of that vocal style - 'Chargouba' by the Mali group Tartit. Unusually, Tartit consists of 5 women and 4 men:

TRACK FOUR: Tartit (2006) 'Chargouba' from Abacabok. Crammed Discs. (2.58)

 

 

Classic Desert Blues

Tinariwen released their first CD in 2000 and captured international attention in 2001 with their performance at the first annual Festival au Desert in Essakane, in Mali's Tombouctou region. In 2004, the band toured Europe and the United States. Their Cler Achel is a good introduction to contemporary Tuareg music - call-and-response vocals, guitar interplay and a shuffle rhythm evoking the loping walk of a camel across the desert!

TRACK FIVE: Tinariwen (2007) 'Cler Achel' from Aman Iman - Water Is Life. Independiente Ltd. (4.28)

 

As we've seen, Desert Blues integrates a range of influences and it continues to do so - including reggae music. Several Desert Blues bands play reggae, e.g., Aldhechen Manin by Tinariwen

TRACK SIX: Tinariwen (2004) 'Aldhechen Manin' from Amassakoul. Universal AZ. (3.54)

 

Tinariwen's international success in the mid-2000s encouraged the formation of several other Tuareg guitar groups. Of these, Niger's Etran Finatawa integrates traditional and modern instruments; and it also integrates Tuaregs with Wodaabes - nomadic cattle herders from the Sahel (Western Sahara) who are traditionally hostile to Tuaregs. The band released its first CD in 2005, then toured in Europe. 'Ganyo Maada' has lots of rhythm with spare guitar 'ornamentation'; and its vocals resemble those of Aboriginal and North American Indians!

TRACK SEVEN: Etran Finatawa (2008) 'Ganyo Maada' from Desert Crossroads. Riverboat Records. (4.45)

 

While many Desert Blues songs share the loping, rolling rhythm of the camel, Terakaft rely on guitars and bass to carry a faster rhythm in their Arghane manine.

TRACK EIGHT: Terakaft (2008) 'Arghane manine (live)' from Live 2008. Tapsit. (3.53)

 

 

Highlighting the elements

Abdallah Oumbadougou's 'back to basics' Illilagh tenere features a simple interplay between vocals and two guitars, one playing a persistent rhythm around which the other extemporizes - reminiscent of Ali Farke Touré's early work.

TRACK NINE: Abdallah Oumbadougou (2006) 'Illilagh tenere' from Desert Rebel. Vol. 1. Original Dub Master. (5.02)

 

Similarly, a spare acoustic guitar augments repetitive percussion and choral vocals in Etran Finitawa's Asistan.

TRACK TEN: Etran Finitawa (2008) 'Asistan' from Desert Crossroads. Riverboat Records. (3.45)

 

Finally, while Bassekou Kouyate's & Ngoni Ba's Bambugu blues has a full, rich sound, it is composed of spare, distinct singing & playing, featuring a tidinit.

TRACK ELEVEN: Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba (2010) 'Bambugu blues' from I Speak Fula. Sub Pop Records/Next Ambience. (5.06)

 

 

Developing the form

The elements of Desert Blues are quite simple, although they can be combined in complex and subtle ways. Having said that, and despite the continuing increase in the number of Desert Blues musicians, much Desert Blues music can be a bit samey. I wouldn't call it monotonous (of course!) but it can certainly be repetitious. Consequently, I've had to work quite hard to choose tracks that illustrate the elements of the genre clearly without merely repeating them.

 

However, the Desert Blues is diversifying as musicians attempt to take it in new directions. For example, women's role in Desert Blues is usually restricted to percussion and/or background vocals, but Oumou Sangere's 'Seya' features her powerful singing (in call-and-response) and a polyrhythmic instrumental track reminiscent of Benin's Angelique Kidjo.

TRACK TWELVE: Oumou Sangare (2009) 'Seya' from Seya. World Circuit. (4.13)

 

Tamikrest are taking Desert Blues in quite a different direction. Their vocals are call-and-response laced with Arabic ululations, but their instruments are almost exclusively modern and the results are closer to western rock. Here's their 'Aicha'.

TRACK THIRTEEN: Tamikrest (2011) 'Aicha' from Toumastin/Adagh. Glitterhouse Records. (3.20)

 

The next example of innovation in Desert Blues is perhaps the most interesting. In my presentation on 'Sufi Music', I played two versions of a song called 'Mustt Mustt': the first by leading Pakistani Qua'wwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the second a Massive Attack remix of that recording that became the first song in Urdu to reach the British charts. Indian-Canadian singer/dancer Kiran Ahluwalia studied Indian classical music in India before moving to Canada and in 2011 she recorded a version of 'Mustt Mustt' in collaboration with Desert Blues band Tinariwen. It's unusual for a woman to sing Qua'wwali songs and for her to do it in collaboration with a Desert Blues band is unique! Here's the result.

TRACK FOURTEEN: Kiran Ahluwalia (2011) 'Mustt Mustt' from Aam Zameen: Common Ground. (With Tinariwen). Independent. (4.18)

 

My final example of developments in the Desert Blues form is another collaboration – this time between Mali’s Songhoy Blues and guitarist Nick Zinner, from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Songhoy Blues is the latest example of Desert Blues emerging from regional conflict. When a Taliban-like, jihadist regime was established in northern Mali in 2012, it banned cigarettes, alcohol and music, with harsh penalties for infringements. Guitarist Garba Touré and his friends - like thousands of others - fled to Mali’s capital, Bamako. Once there, they formed a band to boost fellow refugees’ morale. Three of the musicians (including Garba Touré) are Songhoys – a major ethnic group in the north – but people of all ethnicities flocked to see them, including Tuaregs – despite the Songhoy-Tuareg hostility engendered by Mali's recent civil war.

 

In September 2013, Songhoy Blues linked up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner. Their collaboration was part of a project initiated by a group of European and American musicians and producers calling themselves Africa Express. One result is a track called ‘Soubour’ ("patience") on a compilation album, ‘Maison des Jeunes’ by Africa Express.

TRACK FIFTEEN: Songhoy Blues and Nick Zinner (2013) ‘Soubour’ from ‘Maison des Jeunes’ by Africa Express. Transgressive Records. (3.38)

 

http://tuaregcultureandnews.blogspot.com.au

 

You might also consider a couple of tracks by Dirtmusic:

‘Desert Wind’ from their 2010 CD ‘BKO

‘La Paix’ and ‘Take it on the chin’ from their 2013 CD ‘Troubles’.