Guitars from Agadez Music of Niger Vol. 2

Many of us were thrilled by Bombino's opening for Robert Plant in 2013, This is an early recording.Since being exposed to the genre of Tuareg Rock or Desert Rock by Tinariwen, I've been totally fascinatedby the guitar bands of Niger and Mali. To western ears, the music may resemble North African versionsof 60's garage bands. Unfortunately lost to listeners like myself, who find this genre musically addictive,is the fact that most of these songs are protest songs of Tuareg rebellion and the desire of these peopleto maintain a cultural and political identity.These are live, non-studio recordings and sometimes the vocals fade in the mix, but the guitars are always prominent.

Bombino is one of the most interesting of new Touareg musicians working today. He combines the electric work of groups like Tinarewen and the desert blues of Ali Farka Toure in a most compelling combination. It is also most amazing that given the hardship of merely existing in Agadez at this time that these musicians and so may others can do what they do so well let alone at all.

Omara Mochtar, a.k.a. Bombino, is the leader of Group Bombino and this album was recorded before his Cumbancha label release,  Agadez . This album has a split personality, originally intended as a vinyl release with two different sides stylistically with the Cumbancha release falling somewhere between the styles of the two sides of this release. The first four songs were recorded in the desert at night by the fire while Bombino was working as a cook's assistant for a Spanish film crew.. The songs are credited with being from the Group Bombino archive are in an acoustic style with vocals, acoustic guitars, and handclap percussion. The second song was a stand out track on the various artists Tamashek MP3-only compilation,  Ishumar (Mali-Niger Touaregs) . These four songs here are all really good and if you like these you could check out Bombino's first album from which three of the songs were taken. It is available either in MP3 form  Agamgam 2004  or on vinyl as part of Record Store Day 2014,  Agamgam 2004 . My only complaint about these tracks is that the instrumentation is the same so they sound a little too much alike. Tracks 1 and 3 have been rerecorded for Agadez, although Kamoutalia is rendered as Kammou Taliat on Agadez.The last five songs were recorded live by the founder of the Sublime Frequencies label in Agadez, Niger and Group Bombino live is a different beast altogether. Bombino's band features other guitarists and a kit drummer. The mix is far from great as the vocals are all but lost in the mix. However, the all-electric guitar work shines on these tracks and there is a great energy to the recording. Imuhar and Kamoutalia (tracks 2 and 3) repeat as Imouhare and Kamu Telyat (tracks 6 and 8) but it hardly matters as the sound is so different. I love both halves of this release for different reasons. The acoustic Tamashek sound, know locally as dry guitars, makes me feel like I am sitting at a desert campground listening to the music played on the spot. The live recording of Group Bombino gives me the feel for the club scene in the town of Agadez in Niger, something only the Sublime Frequencies label does.Four and a half stars (rounded to five): five for the first half, four for the second.

Le prime tracce, acustiche, si possono acquistare su Internet assieme ad altri brani; tutti in ottima qualità. Tutte insieme danno un'idea delle radici di Bombino.Le tracce live hanno un suono orribile, non all'altezza di un CD ufficiale. Meno male che l'etichetta si chiama Sublime Frequencies..