Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions

Formed in 1982 in Mali, the members of Tinariwen all originate from the Southern Sahara and take their name from the phrase meaning ‘empty places’. Formed as a reaction to General Gaddafi, theirs is a story with more to offer than many of the acts around today.

Now on their fifth album, they have steadily been gaining exposure to western countries – recently, they played a spectacular joint show at London’s Koko with British folk-experimentalists Tunng. Even though ‘Imidiwan: Companions’ in sung entirely in their native language, it moves you enough to realise that music sits at a higher level where words are irrelevant in comparison to the tone and feel of the entire piece.

Their earlier work was heavily influenced by electric blues, with elements of Middle Eastern and African traditional music creeping in. The album opener ‘My Friends From All Over Africa’ oozes heartfelt emotion as joint vocals all come together, creating a beautiful harmony whilst the gentle percussion entwines around the soft guitar lines.

With a variety of guitar techniques employed, songs seem simple yet complex at the same time. On ‘The Doe’ they take on a blues funk vibe as the quickly spoken vocals give it a hurried effect. You can tell they have taken elements of Carlos Santana’s early work as the mystical guitar lines sweep in and around the group’s backing vocals, giving them an extra dimension.

One of the album’s strengths is the ability to create an enormously uplifting sound which makes the language unimportant. The hypnotic yet heart warming ‘Youth’ gently settles itself into your ears like a weeping lament, albeit one of love and optimism. The ‘pop’ of ‘The Tamashek People’, meanwhile, may well be one of their most accessible songs to date.

It’s all too easy to be excited about Tinariwen because of their backstory and the ‘novelty’ of being an African rock band. But that needs to be put aside and the album judged on its own merit. This is a body of work that is rich in texture, intelligence and passion, layered with varying emotions and facets. On that basis, its one of the highlights of 2009 thus far.

8/10