Music is Like Freedom

Terakaft

Alone (OutHere Records, 2015)

Music is a fragile thing and sadly there are some out there in the world who would stamp it out the whole lot of it. Here in the West we swim in a sea of jingles, theme songs, background music and dive deep into a music culture that each of us carve out for ourselves our personal preferences with relative ease.
Just for a moment imagine a group swaggering down your local city streets shouting out that all music is now forbidden. After the initial laughter and jeers, I’m fairly certain that street fighting, riots and fires would commence. See, music isn’t only fragile – it’s precious. So, you can see how a bunch of Islamists as part of the 2012 Tuareg rebellion taking over and attempting to ban music as part of their institution of sharia to northern Mali wouldn’t go over with the locals.

To take music away from the Tuareg would be a little like taking the soul of the Tuareg. With the Islamists beaten back with the help of French forces and a ceasefire agreement signed in February 2015, watchers are optimistic though some areas remain precarious, but as with the Tuareg themselves the music of the Tuareg lives on.

One of the groups to put the Tuareg and desert blues on the global musical map, Terakaft, has set the healing on a musical path with their latest Alone, out on the OutHere Records label.

With recordings like Kel Tamasheq (2012), Aratan N Azawad (2011), Akh Issudar (2008) and Ishumar (2008) to their credit, Terakaft has once again lured listeners into the wonderful world of revolving Saharan rhythms and infectious guitar lines that are the very signature of the desert blues.

Teaming up with producer Justin Adams, who has worked with both Tinariwen and Robert Plant, Terakaft guitarist and vocalist Liya ag Ablil (aka Diara), guitarist and vocalist Sanou ag Ahmed, bassist Andrew Sudhibhasilp and drummer Nicolas Grupp, ply the listener with a fierce edginess on Alone. Kicking up the percussion and guitars, Alone comes across as deliciously gritty as evidenced by the percussively heavy opening track “Anabayou.”

Sanou Ag Ahmed notes, “Our music can show people how much Tuaregs enjoy life, what we like to share with other people. Perhaps there’s a harder edge in the music because of what happened in Mali in 2012, but it’s an unconscious thing. Our goal with this was to make the songs very danceable.”

 

 

Mr. Ag Ahmed goes on to explain, “Terakaft always sounds rock on stage. This time we wanted to underline it on record. That was the central idea when we discussed the sessions with Justin. He just wanted to show our real personality. He makes the material sound strong and true. Each part is very precise. But at the same time he’s very respectful of the basic song and its meaning.”

In all their desert blues coolness, Terakaft slips into the sleek guitar-edged “Tafouk Tele” before letting loose with the dark twangy goodness of “Karambani” which spirals out like a mad dervish. If that weren’t enough there’s the utter lushness of “Itilla Ihene Dagh Aitma” to tantalize listeners.

Other stand out tracks include “Oulhin Asnin,” “Kal Hoggar” and the dazzlingly danceable “Amidinin Senta Aneflas.” Perhaps my favorite is the poignantly powerful solo of “Anabayou.” Spare with vocals and guitar, “Anabayou” is a sweet reminder that music is fragile and punctuates the Alone title of the CD.

Mr. Ag Ahmed remembers the Islamists coming to power in northern Mali, saying, “They began to forbid music and many other things. How could we live without music? It is such a great thing for all of us. Music is pure life in the desert. Music is like freedom.”
Freedom, indeed.

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