Clever, empowering and musically complex

Tinariwen, meaning “deserts,” is a Mali based group of Tuareg musicians originally founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Alhassane Ag Touhami, Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil in 1979 while they were exiled in Tamanrasset, Algeria. Since then, Tinariwen has become a large musical collective, with talented musicians and songwriters coming and going throughout their 43-year-long career. They still remain very strong today with their international recognition and highly successful tours. 

Their sound is characterized by traditional African and Tuareg music cleverly and neatly combined with western rock music. Many of the lyrics of the album, as well as the lyrics of all of their albums in general, talk about the historical struggles that the Tuareg people have had to face throughout the years. Tinariwen has been described as rebellious with their lyrical and musical approaches and are a voice for their people. 

Their album Kei Tinariwen was originally released in 1992 via cassette tape, and never had a wider release to the public. However, Kei Tinariwen was just recently remastered and rereleased to the public on November 4, 2022. It consists of ten songs that are all quite varied and vastly different from each other. 

The opening track, “A L Histoire” is a melodic singing duet between a male and female voice with a simple repetitive A minor chord progression along with a fairly moderate driving beat. However, most of the tracks that follow include complex syncopated rhythms, unconventional time signatures and traditional percussion instruments. These rhythms are cleverly embedded with simply melodic chant-like singing, mellow electric guitar, synthesizers and strong grooving bass lines. The two songs that exemplify these characteristics the most are “Kedou Kedou” and “Awa Idjan War Infa Iman.” 

“Arghane Manine” is arguably the greatest hit on the album, and it is also the closing track. This is another song on the album that includes a singing duet between a male and female voice. Both singing parts repeat back to back in a simple and eloquent manner, using the “call and response” technique that is so often used in western music. In order to properly accompany the “call and response” phrasing throughout the song, the drums and guitar play much simpler parts that are easier to audibly analyze in a rhythmic manner. 

All of the songs on this musically complex album are characterized by energetic Saharan rebellion, not without triumphant and empowering musical phrasing. This album beautifully embraces and embodies the culture of the Tuareg people, while containing simple western groves that anyone can appreciate.