Tinariwen Elwan

Much has been made of Tinariwen’s background since they began to attract attention outside their native Mali, several of their members having fought in the Tuareg rebellion in that region in the early 90s, which gives them a slightly higher rebel cachet than, say, Coldplay.

I don’t wish to make light of their situation, which saw the band denounced as the devil’s music by militant Islamic groups, and founder member Ibrahim Ag Alhabib abducted and held captive in 2013, but I’m going to presume your grasp of the Tamasheq language is as loose as mine, so let’s concentrate on the music, and leave the lyrical content to the more qualified.

It ranges from slow, mournful blues like Ittus, which shares a direct line back (or should that be forward) to Muddy Waters’ 'Still A Fool', undulating grooves with a pleasing bang of campfire (lead single 'Ténéré Tàqqàl'), and tindé drum and bass driven guitar wig outs like 'Tiwàyyen' and 'Sastanàqqàm' (imagine rhythmic oddballs Ali Farka Toure, John Lee Hooker and Keith Richards fighting over a chord sequence in a small room). The odd blast of female ululation is literally thrilling.
Special hats off to engineer Andrew Schepps (RHCP, Jay Z) for a fantastic sounding recording, which sways with such hypnotic power that when the suitably sand-blasted Mark Lanegan shows up on 'Nànnuflày', it is the sound of the English language that is almost jarring.

The Real Folk Blues. Highly recommended.