After Tinariwen earned a seal of approval from Led Zep\u2019s Robert Plant, the hypnotic blues-rock of North Africa\u2019s dispossessed yet eternally defiant Tuareg people \u2013 or as they prefer, Kel Tamasheq \u2013 piqued the world\u2019s 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\u2019s fifth studio effort announces not only where they\u2019re from, with its allusions to resistance and exile (as well as hope for the better, the meaning of the album\u2019s title). It also points to where their path has led them \u2013 and where the arid Saharan groove can go next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldwide tours and high-end European production have put a polish on Tamikrest\u2019s sound. The basics are there \u2013 the rattling percussion, euphoric group chants, and sharp, radiant riffs \u2013 but the tracks on Tamota\u00eft<\/em> 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\u2019s sunny skies quickly enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next stage for the Tuareg music movement is intersections with outside styles, or so Tamota\u00eft <\/em>might suggest. The mesmerizing \u201cTimtarin\u201d, 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 \u201cTabsit,\u201d on which Ag Mossa indulges his acquired fascination for Japanese stringed instruments \u2013 the shamisen and tonkori of guests Atsushi Sakta and Oki Kano interact marvelously with his guitar and voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n