Tuareg Rock / Blues – Agadez, Niger
Bombino, or Omara Moctar, hails from the Tuareg (“rebel”) culture of South Saharan Africa, originally camel-based nomadic herders & caravan traders, who have been fighting attempts by bigger powers – be that the Arabs, the French, or modern African states – to control them for much of their 1000+ year history. The desert has been their home and pastureland, representing freedom from oppressive religion, colonialism, and modernity. In dynamic crossroads such as Timbuktu & Agadez, the confluence of Arab and African modes of expression has produced great guitar artists such as Ali Farka Toure, his son Vieux, Tinariwen, and now Bombino – all of whom share a foundational, genetic link with all the modern American musical idoms that grew from the blues. With a strong ethnic integrity that also feels vital and current, Bombino’s guitar can flow like the Saharan sand, then soar through Hendrix-like solos evoking the starry desert night sky. His influence is rapidly extending through inter-actions with the broader world, in projects like Rolling Stones collabs, playing guide to Angelina Jolie during a Niger desert tour, and being featured in an award-winning, widely shown documentary film on the Tuareg people’s plight, called Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion. Don’t miss this amazing creative tour-de-force, as well as a glimpse into a fascinating struggle for cultural self-determination.
www.bambinoafrica.com/ZeroGravity_Films/Bombino.html