An album to raise money for north Malian refugees brings together some of the best desert rockers.
This January, a long-standing feud between Tuareg rebels and the Malian government escalated into one of the Sahara's worst refugee crises in recent history. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) regrouped in north-eastern Mali and invaded the city of Menaka, demanding independence for their homeland that they call Azawad, in a move that ended two years of peace in the region. The ensuing conflict has forced tens of thousands to become refugees with the majority fleeing to camps near the Niger, Algeria, Mauritania and Burkina Faso borders.
'Songs for Desert Refugees' is an album in aid of the refugees' plight, with all proceedings to be split between the two NGOs Tamoudré and Etar.
The importance of 'Songs for Desert Refugees' is instantly asserted by what has to be one of the most heart felt Tinariwen tracks on record. 'Amous Idraout Assouf d'Alwa' hits like an afterthought from their critically acclaimed album 'Aman Iman'; that is, raw bursts of electric guitars offset against an equally resonating percussion of hand claps and calabash whacks. Front man Ibrahim Ag Alhabib is almost drowned out by a chorus of female vocals. For those uninitiated in the power of the desert blues, this is an essential track from the group credited with bringing guitars to the Sahara.
We then enter the heart of the struggle with previously unreleased tracks from Tamikrest - whose lead singer Ousmane Ag Mossa outlined the Tuareg issue to Think Africa Press six months before the conflict restarted and the refugee crisis began - and Amanar, both young groups from Mali's north-eastern deserts.
Back in June, 2011, Ag Mossa stressed the damage caused by the division of his homeland into five countries. It seems fitting then that the non-Malian Tuareg should also have a voice, represented on album by several artists from Niger and Algeria.
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Later, the Algerian guitarist Bombino - probably the most exciting name in desert rock after Tinariwen - takes 'Songs for Desert Refugees' out of the studio with a 13-minute live performance; think Hendrix's Voodoo Chile for a bluesy comparison. Not much changes from the opening seconds of 'Tigrawahi Tikma', but herein lies the beauty of that rare hypnotic effect in Tuareg music. Music is clearly the lifeblood of the culture, and never have the Tuareg been more in need of international support.
Songs for Desert Refugees is released by Glitterhouse Records.
Clyde Macfarlane is a travel writer and music critic. He won a Guardian Student Media Award in 2009, while studying social antropology from Manchester University, and he has since had several articles published for the paper. He also writes for Songlines Magazine, specialising in African and Caribbean music genres. Follow Clyde on twitter @ClydeMacfarlane.
