Album review

Ishumar 2 compilation

The new generation of Tuareg guitarists

Paris 

17/03/2011 - 

The compilation Ishumar 2, nouvelles guitares touarègues is a yardstick measuring the progress of Tuareg guitar playing. It paints an instructive portrait of the musical movement and marks out the distance covered since Tinariwen erupted onto the world music scene at the end of the nineties.

Every time a musical genre comes into the international spotlight after existing on a local scale, there is a temptation to view it only through the artist that brought it fame and who has often come to embody it. This simplistic view is as valid for the reggae associated with Jamaica and Bob Marley as it is for the blues rock of the desert played by the Malians of Tinariwen. In reality, things tend to be a lot more diverse and multifaceted than they seem at first sight, and subject to contrary forces and paradoxical approaches: how can you identify with the reference artist and at the same time stand out on your own?

Released three years after a first part sub-titled musique touarègue de résistance, the compilation Ishumar 2 turns to a new generation who are tackling the music with a different mindset. The transformation starts with the notion of author-composer, which until now has been incidental, informal and often collective. That time is over, as the CD booklet (45 pages in French and English) shrewdly observes. It also points out that, “Of the twelve groups featuring on this disk, four have never played outside the Mediterranean”. The musicians are aware that they will be listened to in a much wider circle than their community, and that completely changes their approach.

Their personal experiences vary widely. They come from Mali, Niger, Algeria – like Nabil Othmani, who has already co-authored an album with Steve Shenen – or even Burkina Faso, like Mouma Bob. Some are exiled in France or Belgium, and others never really lived through armed rebellion, even though it is at the heart of the pioneers’ approach. Some didn’t even grow up in the desert, like the Italian-Algerian, Faris Amine Bottazi. A few bring in drums, and others play keyboards or add touches of reggae and rap, with guest appearances from artists hailing from other worlds. Anyone who fears that the cement of Tuareg blues rock is likely to give way with all these fusions and mixes need look no further than Ibrahim Djo Experience’s Anchar for some convincing reassurance.

Compilation Ishumar 2 (Re-aktion/Believe) 2011

Bertrand  Lavaine