Recorded in 1991 and released only on a minuscule run of cassettes, Tinariwen‘s Kel Tinariwen is a fascinating timepiece of their early sound and the building blocks of what would become the desert blues style the band that would make the band famous around the world.
Opening with a song about history, “À L’Histoire,” you hear bits of late 80s Afropop and synth music mixed with their traditional style Tuareg vocals (with female co-vocals sung in French!). “Kedou Kedou” brings in what would become their familiar, hypnotic guitar sound, and the mesmerizing sounds only increase on “Atahoura Techragh D’Azaka Nin.”
“Matadjem Yinmexan” is bouncy and lively. You’ll hear how much Tinariwen have influenced Goat on this track. “Awa Idjan War Infa Iman” puts together simple synth-strings and trance-inducing vocals and guitar rhythms. “Sendad Eghlalan” has a brightness to it that is difficult to explain until you hear it. It’s probably from the shopping mall-organ riffs and beats.
The trippy, haunting melodies of “Tenidagh High Djeredjere” are like an appetizer for the main course of the album’s closer, “Arghane Manine,” which is full of electric dance beats, hand percussion, and a simple, repetitive guitar lick that perfectly matches with the Tuareg vocals and chants.
I don’t know if members of Tinariwen thought this album would be a massive success, or if they were just happy with being able to make it, put it out there, and spread the stories of the Tuareg people. Thankfully, they decided to re-release it for all of us on a wide scale for the first time so we can hear these old stories and get lost in them.
Touareg collective Tinariwen are thrilled to announce the reissue of Kel Tinariwen, marking the project’s first-ever official release since it appeared in 1992 locally in Mali on cassette, out November 4th via Wedge. In conjunction, they share its lead single and album closer, “Arghane Manine.” The track skips with percussion, grooving bass, and twangs of electric guitar. Across “Arghana Manine,” vocals call back and forth to each other. Kel Tinariwen will see release alongside two additional Tinariwen reissues, Aman Iman: Water Is Life and Imidiwan: Companion, out for the first time on vinyl the same day via CraftRecordings.
A revelatory discovery in the Tinariwen archives, Kel Tinariwen is an early cassette tape recorded in the early 90s that never received a wider release, and sheds new light on the band’s already rich history. Not having yet developed the fuller band sound they became internationally established with, Kel Tinariwen features their trademark hypnotic guitar lines and call-and-response vocals weaving in between raw drum machine rhythms and keyboard melodies that almost evoke an Arabic take on 80s synth-pop.
In the summer of 1991, four members of Tinariwen traveled to Abidjan in Ivory Coast to record the band’s first official release, Kel Tinariwen. They were AbdallahAgAlhousseyni, HassanAgTouhamiaka ‘Abin Abin,’KedouAgOssad and LiyaAgAblilaka ‘Diarra.’ The project was the brainchild of KeltoumSennhauser, a painter, poet and songwriter of mixed parentage (her father was a Sonhrai, her mother a Touareg), who grew up partly in Bamako, partly in the Kidal region of north-eastern Mali, the homeland of all the members of Tinariwen. Like so many Touareg from that region, Keltoum and her family had been forced to emigrate by the droughts that tore the Touareg world apart in the mid-1970s and 1980s, as well as all the oppression and suffering that had followed independence in 1960. Keltoum became deeply involved in the Touareg struggle for freedom and self-determination and saw music in general and music of Tinariwen in particular as an essential part of that struggle.
Kel Tinariwen was never heard outside of the local community that traded cassettes back in 1992 – an activity that was important to the movement, as Keltoum explains: “I think the cassette played a crucial role as a tool of communication, a tool that was very dear to us. It served to raise awareness and awaken the consciences of those who felt that everything was already lost, or that we didn’t have the wherewithal to win our struggle. It allowed the Touareg world to develop its own conscience and move forward. In our milieu, the only thing that can make us question ourselves is music. Because we listen to a lot of music, we love music, we love poetry. We don’t read. We’re not a people who read. So, the only reading we have, about ourselves and about the outside world, is music.” Thirty years later, the album is finally seeing an official release, on vinyl, CD, and cassette to pay homage to its original format.
There’s distinct parallels with the sounds found on this tape and the work uncovered in recent years by crate-digger labels such as Awesome Tapes From Africa, Sahel Sounds and Sublime Frequencies. Aman Iman: Water Is Life and Imidiwan: Companion are Tinariwen’s third and fourth studio albums respectively. It’s a blend of West African traditional music and electrified rock’n’roll – a sound that critics have called “desert blues.”
Alongside Kel Tinariwen, Tinariwen are also reissuing Aman Iman: Water Is Life and Imidiwan: Companions – their third and fourth studio albums respectively. A blend of West African traditional music and electrified rock’n’roll –a sound that critics have called “desert blues.” Aman Iman: Water Is Life was Tinariwen’s third studio album, originally released in 2007, and recorded in Mali’s capital, Bamako. Produced by JustinAdams (Robert Plant’s guitarist and producer of the Tinariwen’s debut album The Radio Tisdas Sessions), and recording engineer BenFindlay. The whole Tinariwen story breathes through its twelve songs, beginning with the first Touareg rebellion of 1963, which lies at the root of so much pain and trauma in the Malian Touareg mindset and which is vividly recalled by Ibrahim in his brooding song ‘Soixante Trois..’
Imidiwan: Companions was the band’s fourth album, and it possesses all the elements that have made them so alluring; raw simplicity, melodic beauty, songs ranging from the epic and universal to the intimate and personal. The 13-track album, produced by Jean-Paul Romann, was recorded in Tessalit, the Malian desert village home of band members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Hassan Ag Touhami.
In advance of the three reissues’ release, Tinariwen will return stateside for a North American tour this September and October. Tinariwen will kick off their North American tour in Chicago on Fri. Sept. 9th. Tickets are on-sale now and available at tinariwen.com/tour.
Kel Tinariwen Tracklist: 1. À L’Histoire 2. Khedou Khedou 3. Adounia Tarha 4. Matadjem Yinmexan 5. Awa Idjan War Infa Iman 6. Sendad Eghlalan 7. Sendad Eghlalan 8. Arghane Manine
Aman Iman: Water Is Life Tracklist: 1. Cler Achel 2. Mano Dayak 3. Matadjem Yinmixan 4. Ahimana 5. Soixante Trois 6. Toumast 7. Imidiwan WinakaliN 8. Awa Didjen 9. Ikyadarh Dim 10. Tamatant Tilay 11. Assouf 12. Izarharh Tenere
Imidiwan: Companions Tracklist: 1. Imidiwan Afrik Tendam 2. Lulla 3. Tenhert 4. Enseqi Ehad Didagh 5. Tahult In 6. Tamodjerazt Assis 7. Intitlayaghen 8. Imazighen N Adagh 9. Tenalle Chegret 10. Kel Tamashek 11. Assuf Ag Assuf 12. Chabiba 13. Ere Tasfata Adounia
Tinariwen Tour Dates: Fri. Sept. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Metro Sat. Sept. 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Cedar Cultural Center Mon. Sept. 12 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater Tue. Sept. 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge Thu. Sept. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Fri. Sept. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial Theatre Sat. Sept. 17 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Mon. Sept. 19 – Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre Tue. Sept. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre Wed. Sept. 21 – Phoenix, AZ @ Musical Instrument Museum Theater Fri. Sept. 23 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk – Indoor Sat. Sept. 24 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips Sun. Sept. 25 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater Tue. Sept. 27 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues Thu. Sept. 29 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom Fri. Sept. 30 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere Sat. Oct. 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Mon. Oct. 3 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Tue. Oct. 4 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre Wed. Oct. 5 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair Music Hall Fri. Oct. 7 – Montreal, QC @ Rialto Theatre Sat. Oct. 8 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
