Concert Review: Tinariwen in Washington DC (03/14)
“The desert is a place of hardship and subtle beauty, a stark world that reveals its secrets slowly and carefully. Life in the desert is resilient and strong, and the people are gentle giants among the sand, storms, and sun.”
On Saturday, March 22nd, the Washington Performing Arts Society and the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue sponsored Tinariwen, a group of Tuareg musicians from northern Mali. Started in 1979, Tinariwen was formed by Ibrahim ag Alhabib and rose to popularity in North Africa, even playing for now-deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffi. With the release of their album “The Radio Tisdas Sessions” in 2001, Tinariwen’s popularity moved north, where they performed at music festivals in France and Denmark. Tinariwen won a Grammy award in 2012 for their album “Tassili,” cementing their place as world-class musicians. Tinariwen sings in their native Tamashek about their peoples’ love of their land and the Tuareg nomadic way of life, as well as their ongoing, fifty-year struggle for Tuareg independence. The Tuareg people number about 1.2 million and inhabit seven North African countries, including Mali, but have no internationally recognized state of their own. The Tuareg independence movement continues in Northern Mali today, with Tuareg fighters rallying in the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (M.N.L.A). The theme of independence weaves itself through Tinarwen’s music and presented itself at Sixth & I on a band member’s decorated guitar: AZAWAD.
Sixth and I: Sixth and I Historic Synagogue is located on the edge of Chinatown in Washington, D.C. Built in 1908 as a conservative synagogue, today it is a noteworthy D.C. community space and active temple. Concerts and lectures are held in the large sanctuary space under a blue-painted dome emblazoned with a gold Star of David, encircled by beautiful stained glass windows. Tinariwen played on a stage at the front of the room (called a bimah in the Jewish tradition), in front of the Holy Ark which holds the synagogue’s three Torahs.
The Melodic: South London’s The Melodic, a folk band with sounds reminiscent of Beirut or Belle and Sebastian, opened for Tinariwen. The vocal harmonies between singers Lydia Samuel and Huw Williams were beautifully paired and the (always funny looking) melodicas energized the audience. The thirty minute set highlighted tracks on their newly released album Effra Parade, which catalogues an impressive eighteen instruments.
Tinariwen: From the first notes, you know Tinariwen is something special. Their music is layered with vibrancy and emotion: percussion from the calabash and djembe; bass, acoustic, and electric guitars (six total!); and vocals that reverberate in your chest and your soul. A small group of dancers — Tuareg and Washingtonians — gathered at the front of the stage for the first few numbers when suddenly and collectively, the rest of the 300-plus audience couldn’t contain themselves: in a wave, the whole room stood up and moved together, following the clapping and the dancing of the artists on stage. It was a powerful cross-cultural moment.
Tinariwen, true to their style, sang the entire set in Tamashek and addressed the crowd in a few, repeated English phrases: “Is it good?” “How are you doing?” And the occasional French: “Ca va?” Band members were dressed in traditional Tuareg clothes, long tunics to their feet (called boubous in parts of West Africa) and tagelmust, a long turban or head-wrap that covers most of the face and the mouth. Here they were, on this Jewish stage in the nation’s capital, rocking out to ballads about their culture and traditions with a bunch of people who will likely never experience these things, much less understand the lyrics. The music broke these barriers and heightened the uniqueness of the moment. A North African nomadic band, a century-old Jewish synagogue, and a diverse D.C. crowd were synchronized by the rhythms, the energy and the passion Tinariwen brought to the stage and gifted to its listeners.
Listen to Tenere Taqqim Tossan-The Jealous Desert with Tunde Adebimpe and TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone:
Tinariwen is touring the US until April 25.
