The Rough Guide To Desert Blues

It used to be something of a closed shop. For years and years, when it came to the sandblasted desert blues of the Sahara, the first and last word was the name of Ali Farka Touré. Then along came Tinariwen, that loose cabal of former guerrilla fighters who took things in a more rock’n’roll – and more political – direction, in the process ending up as support to some outfit called The Rolling Stones.

For this perfectly pitched selection, Ali and Tinariwen are of course the major presences. But this album also serves as a useful catch-all of those who’ve followed in the latter’s high-profile wake. There’s Tinariwen spin-off Terakraft, whose burning guitars hit the same spot. Also toting electric guitars are the more intricate Etran Finatawa from Niger (to whom the second CD is devoted) and Tamikrest, whose chilling ‘Aratane N’adagh’ is loaded with intimate menace.

But not everyone plugs in. Mali’s Bassekou Kouyaté and Ngoni ba show how effective the ngoni (lute) is at evoking lonesomeness and solitude, as does Mamane Barka’s delicate playing of the biram, the five-stringed lute from eastern Niger. Elsewhere there are sterling contributions from Western Sahara’s Mariem Hassan, the Touareg band Tartit and Malouma from Mauritania. Stretching the desert blues definition a little, Amadou & Mariam’s ‘Beaux Dimanches’ springs off in a poppier direction, though it’s grounded in Amadou’s bluesy, circular playing. The couple certainly serve as another reminder of how keen this music is to reach beyond the lands where those Saharan sands blow.