Walking Through the Desert

ETRAN FINATAWA
Introducing Etran Finatawa (Introducing/WMN)

The success of Tuareg blues/rock group Tinariwen informed the wider world to the influence of musical styles mixing with African desert folk music. The band, which formed in 1992, launched a political and social assault on Malian and Algerian governments, using fuzzy guitars and metaphorical poetry to plead the case of nomadic peoples. Twelve years later and two separate groups – comprised of six Wodaabe and four Tuareg musicians from Niger – united to battle the racial injustices their respective cultures had been enduring. Whereas it took Tinariwen over a decade to break into the Western market, Etran Finatawa, “the stars of tradition,” began touring Europe in 2005, the year after their first jam.

Credit Tinariwen for opening those doors, but give equal accolades to the incredible musicianship showcased on Etran Finatawa’s international debut. The bluesy electric guitars are prevalent, though the focus remains on percussion, bass and the droning repetitiveness of superb chants and poetry. In short, this is a record one really feels. Producer Chris Birkett, who recorded the band live in one room while on their European tour, does an exceptional job at capturing the lush textures of the azakalabo (water-flooding calabash), akayaure (metal rings on a metal plate, worn on legs) and the occasional lilt of the odiliri, a traditional flute. His bass playing helps fill out the low end, a special addition considering only six of the band’s 10 musicians made it to France.

With the background instrumentation so tight, there’s plenty of room for the guitars and vocals to roam. The six-string playing is excellent, constantly weaving and ducking into handclaps and the calabash. It’s really the vocals driving this project, though; all members sing, mostly in call-and-response format. The leader is Ghalitane Khamidoune, faintly reminiscent of Baaba Maal in tonal structure though worlds apart in approach. Much like the Gnawa of Morocco (Birkett’s bass also adds a sintir feel), these songs are healing: “Ronde,” which almost mimics the overnight lila ceremony of the Gnawa, and “Maleele,” about a beautiful girl that comes to dance in call to spirits. The constant bass and handclaps coupling with the back-forth chanting make it a truly hypnotic track.

The most trance-inducing number, however, is certainly the closing “Heeme.” A song honoring the culture’s camel races, it is too short at just over four minutes. Again like Gnawa, or possibly qawwali, it has that special gravity in which 24 minutes would be more appropriate. Alas, it is just a taste of a band, and region, that is coming to light on an international stage. And this is a platform we hope to hear more from soon.