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Tamikrest
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Tamikrest: "Chatma" (Trailer)
"Chatma" is Tamikrest's first album to be wholly written around a defined theme. In Tamashek "Chatma" means "Sisters" and the band has dedicated the album in their own words to: "the courage of the Tuareg women, who have ensured both their children's survival and the morals of their fathers and brothers."
The opening track "Tisnant an Chatma (The suffering of my sisters)" is a heartbreaking homage: « Who can estimate the suffering felt by the soul / of one who sees her sisters exhausted from waiting/ of one who sees her sisters exhausted from waiting between countries, in deep distress /and daily oppression? «
Fittingly for an album so lyrically evocative, "Chatma " also delivers Tamikrest's most wide-screen and wide-ranging sonic statement to date. The infectious, sing-along rock stylings of "Imanin bas zihoun", the acoustic seduction of "Adounia tabarat", the Pink Floyd influenced montage "Assikal" and the lush, melancholy ambiance of the albums finale, "Timtar", all add up to a sustained audio adventure. Echoes of dub, blues, psychedelia, funk and even art-rock are seamlessly weaved by Tamikrest into their increasingly individual take on the Tuareg musical tradition.
And on an album where the title translates as "Sisters", it makes perfect sense that this time around we hear the full emergence of the haunting voice of female vocalist Wonou Walet Sidati in tandem with lead vocalist Ousmane Ag Mossa. A new guitarist, Paul Salvagnac has also joined the band, bringing with him fresh textures and possibilities.
Contemporary Tuareg music has produced several unforgettable albums in recent years and "Chatma" certainly deserves to be ranked with these. But one also gets the sense, when listening to "Chatma" that there is something uniquely innovative and exploratory about Tamikrest's musical quest and that at last they have stepped into a wide-open space of their own.
Out 16 September 2013 on Glitterbeat Records
CD/ Vinyl/ Download (GBCD 007/ GBLP 007)
UK distribution by Shellshock
'Chatma' is the new album by Tuareg rockers Tamikrest. The album is a fully persuasive sonic document and is filled with sober reflection, moral indignation, musical experimentation, cultural celebration - and the kick of rock and roll. 'Chatma' translates as "Sisters" and the band have dedicated the album, in their own words, to "the courage of the Tuareg women, who have ensured both their children's survival and the morals of their fathers and brothers."
Tamikrest means "crossing" in the language of the Kel Tamashek, a traditionally nomadic people, commonly referred to as the Tuaregs, who inhabit the Saharan desert across various countries, including Niger, Algeria, Libya and Mali. It is an apt name for a band that so successfully merges the values of their timeless culture with the sounds and visions they have encountered on a headlong journey to the concert stages and iPods of the world.
Since the band emerged onto the international scene four years ago, they have been in constant motion, moving between the Sahara and Europe (most recently for the sold-out Sahara Soul shows in London and Glasgow earlier this year, alongside Bassekou Kouyate and Sidi Toure) as though these places were next-door neighbours. All the while, during this same time period, their homeland has suffered increasingly profound and catastrophic events. Originally hailing from Kidal, a remote desert town in the northwest of the Sahara, some 2,000 kilometres north of the Malian capital Bamako, as the result of ongoing war, persecution and political collapse most of the band now lives in exile in Algeria.
These last years have been intensely vivid for Tamikrest, defined as they have been by both tragic sadness (families and friends turned refugees, the brutal imposition of Sharia law in their hometown) and collective growth (their musical dreams building one upon another). Their new album 'Chatma' - their third, after 'Adagh' (2010) and 'Toumastin' (2011) - deftly navigates these experiences and fashions them into a fully persuasive and poetic musical document. The album is filled with sober reflection, moral indignation, musical experimentation, cultural celebration - and the kick of rock and roll.
'Chatma' is also Tamikrest's first album to be wholly written around a defined theme. In the Tamashek language "Chatma" means "Sisters" and the band has dedicated the album in their own words to "the courage of the Tuareg women, who have ensured both their children's survival and the morals of their fathers and brothers." The opening track "Tisnant an Chatma (The suffering of my sisters)" is a heartbreaking homage: "Who can estimate the suffering felt by the soul / of one who sees her sisters exhausted from waiting/ of one who sees her sisters exhausted from waiting between countries, in deep distress /and daily oppression?"
Fittingly for an album so lyrically evocative, 'Chatma' also delivers Tamikrest's most wide-screen and wide-ranging sonic statement to date. The infectious, sing-along rock stylings of "Imanin bas zihoun", the acoustic seduction of "Adounia tabard", the Pink Floyd influenced montage "Assikal" and the lush, melancholy ambiance of the album's finale, "Timtar", all add up to a sustained audio adventure. Echoes of dub, blues, psychedelia, funk and even art-rock are seamlessly weaved by Tamikrest into their increasingly individual take on the Tuareg musical tradition.
And on an album where the title translates as "Sisters", it makes perfect sense that this time around we hear the full emergence of the haunting voice of female vocalist Wonou Walet Sidati (previously with Tinariwen), in tandem with lead vocalist and guitarist Ousmane Ag Mossa. The line-up also features original members Cheick Tiglia (bass, vocals), Aghaly Ag Mohamedine (djembe, calabash, vocals) and Ibrahim Ag Ahmed Salim (drum kit, calabash), plus a new guitarist, Paul Salvagnac, who has joined the band, bringing with him fresh textures and possibilities.
The album has been recorded at Sono Studio, just outside of Prague in the Czech Republic, and was produced by Chris Eckman who has collaborated with Willard Grant Conspiracy and many others, and is the leader of acclaimed US band The Walkabouts and a member of Dirtmusic.
In ancient times, the Tuareg were the proud rulers of the Sahara, but their territory was divided in different countries and they had to fight long and hard for independence. Between 1990 and 1995, this fight evolved into a bloody civil war after which many of the rebel fighters traded the Kalashnikovs and hand grenades for guitars and microphones. The members of Tamikrest who are mostly in their late 20s have not actively fought in this war, but like the elder statesmen of Tuareg music they have found a way to translate the pulse of the Blues – whose roots lie in North and West Africa – back to the Tuareg language Tamashek. They take generators deep into the desert to have electricity for their guitars in search for the perfect synthesis of their traditional ritual drumming with the music of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley.
Contemporary Tuareg music has produced several unforgettable albums in recent years and 'Chatma' certainly deserves to be ranked with these. But one also gets the sense, when listening to 'Chatma' that there is something uniquely innovative and exploratory about Tamikrest's musical quest and that at last they have stepped into a wide-open space of their own.
'Chatma' track-listing:
01. Tisnant an Chatma
02. Imanin bas zihoun
03. Itous
04. Achaka Achail Aynaian daghchilan
05. Djanegh etoumast
06. Assikal
07. Toumast anlet
08. Takma
09. Adounia tabarat
10. Timtar
Live in the UK:
16 October - GATESHEAD The Sage Hall Two
18 October - LEEDS Howard Assembly Room
19 October - WHITBY Musicport Festival
20 October - LONDON XOYO
21 October - NOTTINGHAM Djanogly Theatre
22 October - BRIGHTON Komedia
23 October - BRISTOL Colston Hall II
24 October - NORWICH Arts Centre
Further information is available at: http://www.tamikrest.net/en/