Mabruk

In the last issue, Songlines reviewed the latest album from Mariem Hassan, a leading singer and activist in the independence movement of the Saharawi people of Western Sahara. Here we have another female voice of that struggle. Aziza Brahim was born in the Saharawi refugee camps of Algeria and relocated to Spain in 2000. While both women are steeped in the sad struggle of their people, Brahim’s debut album exhibits a far more cosmopolitan sound. Her new band, Gulili Mankoo is made up of Saharawi, Spanish, Colombian and Senegalese musicians and they play a mix of traditional Saharawi styles, blues, rock and funk. The album’s title is taken from Brahim’s poet grandmother Ljarda Mint Mabruk, whose verse she has set to music on several tracks. The insistent groove is infectious and the crossover sound highly effective, in particular the quicksilver guitar, best heard on bluesy numbers such as ‘Wilaya Blues’ and ‘Invasores’.

The guitar is also to the fore on the rockier tracks against a barrage of drums, yet the band are at their best when the t'bel – the traditional Saharawi hand drum – is employed rather than the drum kit. The sparse rolling rhythm against guitar allows Brahim’s voice the space it deserves. The final two-minute track ‘Lamentos’ is an evocative conclusion that could have been the intro to a fuller piece, and may point the way to the future of Brahim’s sound.