World music comes to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College as the Saharan blues band Tinariwen opens the 2015-2016 season at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22. The dance floor will be open.
Tinariwen's members are self-described poet-guitarists and soul rebels from the Southern Sahara desert. Their music expresses the aspirations of their people, the Kel Tamashek or 'Tuareg" of Mali.
Formed in 1982 in the Tuareg refugee camps in Libya, Tinariwen keeps alive the music of the nomadic forefathers while simultaneously communicating radical political messages. This is known as tishoumaren, music of the ishumar (the unemployed). Usually performed by groups of 30 and more instrumentalists and singers, tishoumaren acknowledges contemporary western music, especially rock, as well as other music forms prevalent in the Middle East, while never losing touch with the original ancient form.
Tinariwen's music is spare and haunting, an aural reflection of the open spaces of the region. The lyrics, sometimes termed sung poetry, carry outspoken political thought that draws attention not only to repression in Mali, but also to the enforced exile and the continuing struggle of the Tuareg nomads. Song structures are varied and include elemental call-and-response patterns as well as (to western ears) discordant notes reminiscent of the blue notes favored by western blues and jazz players. The musicians have a solid four-beat rhythmic foundation uncommon to the region, although compatible with much popular western music.
Tinariwen's fifth album, Tassili, released in 2011, won the Grammy for Best World Music Album. The band is currently touring in promotion of its recent release Emmaar, which is delivers stripped-down dirges and effervescent anthems with simplicity and honesty.
The band name Tinariwen literally means empty places, reflecting the members' continued link to the vast desert regions of the Sahara. Band members include Said Ag Ayad, Alhassane Ag Touhami, Eyadou Ag Leche, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Abdallah Ag Lamida, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni and Bassa Walet Abdoumou.
NPR calls the group, "music's true rebels," and AllMusic deems the music "a grassroots voice of rebellion."
Review video performances of Tinariwen at http://tinariwen.com/video.
Tickets for Tinariwen are $44 and $34 and are available online at www.durangoconcerts.com, or call 970.247.7657, or visit the Ticket Office inside the Durango Welcome Center at 8th St. and Main Ave., Downtown Durango. Ticket Office hours are Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
