Assouf

It has been two decades since desert blues music first stepped onto the international stage, and although the world still can’t get enough of it, it is increasingly hard for young Touareg groups to step out from under the shadow of Tinariwen, Tamikrest and the like. Toumastine’s small beginnings, featuring car clutch cable guitar strings, certainly haven’t made this feat any easier, but with Assouf, they’ve really brought their A-game. Recorded in their ‘humble home studio’ in Niamey, Niger, the album is mesmerising. It’s not overdone, in fact it’s almost understated, and for a genre that has an ever-growing line of forefathers, there is still something new among the rock progressions and Touareg melodies that lend the style its striking yet familiar sound. A head-turning cross-rhythm in ‘Eghacharan’ offsets the entrancing flute and gentle harmonies; ‘Hegh Tenerenin’ has a distinct reggae feel to the rhythm guitar; and the tantalising Khruangbin-like riffs of ‘Mahedjan Man’ lilt and echo effortlessly.

Far from fading into the desert blues background, their second record is a triumph. Assouf translates as nostalgia, longing, wilderness, and listening to this album, even those who have never been to the Sahara will share in Toumastine’s beautiful, raw longing for their desert home.