Country : Mali Label : Glitterbeat Genres and styles : Africa / Saharan Blues Year : 2020

Tamotaït

· by Rupert Bottenberg

After Tinariwen earned a seal of approval from Led Zep’s Robert Plant, the hypnotic blues-rock of North Africa’s dispossessed yet eternally defiant Tuareg people – or as they prefer, Kel Tamasheq – piqued the world’s curiosity. A standout act in the wave of bands followed is Tamikrest, operating out of Mali and led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Ousmane Ag Mossa. A decade after their debut, Adagh, Tamikrest’s fifth studio effort announces not only where they’re from, with its allusions to resistance and exile (as well as hope for the better, the meaning of the album’s title). It also points to where their path has led them – and where the arid Saharan groove can go next.

Worldwide tours and high-end European production have put a polish on Tamikrest’s sound. The basics are there – the rattling percussion, euphoric group chants, and sharp, radiant riffs – but the tracks on Tamotaït are lighter, richer and more lustrous than, say, the sulfurous blaze of Mdou Moctar or the raw, sparse ache of the godfathers, Tinariwen. Beware of the mellower moments, though, storm clouds can fill Tamikrest’s sunny skies quickly enough.

The next stage for the Tuareg music movement is intersections with outside styles, or so Tamotaït might suggest. The mesmerizing “Timtarin”, a soft breeze that builds into a sandstorm, finds Ag Mossa in a duet with celebrated Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra. More intriguing still is the sedate closing track “Tabsit,” on which Ag Mossa indulges his acquired fascination for Japanese stringed instruments – the shamisen and tonkori of guests Atsushi Sakta and Oki Kano interact marvelously with his guitar and voice.

Latest 360 Content

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Subscribe to our newsletter