BOMBINO: Nomad
BOMBINO
Nomad
Nonesuch 5342912
Omara “Bombino” Moctar, was born in Niger, Africa, into a nomadic Tuareg family and grew up amid years of rebellion and strife, both national and personal. With support from a wise and loving grandmother and other sympathetic family members, he got his hands on a guitar and developed a music steeped in intricate yet primal Islamic-flavored melodies and rhythms along with inspiration from modern Western players like Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler. Bombino honed his skills during an extended stay in Libya before returning home to become a busy back-up musician. A locally released first album piqued interest from the likes of The Rolling Stones and actress/activist Angelina Jolie, and the international tours that followed led to still more helpful friendships. This latest release was produced in Nashville with Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) at the helm. Bombino’s culture is glorified via modal tunings, handclaps and lurching, vertiginous time signatures galore. But his guitar, while consistently bluesy and warmly rough-edged, can embroider and/or shred with the best of them. His singing voice, meanwhile, evokes centuries of hard traveling on bad roads or none at all, scratchy, tough, tender and flexible. Standout tracks include “Ahulakamine Hulan”, where gutty, thick-thumbed picking is punctuated by pile-driving, resonating beats, the wickedly infectious, dance-or-die “Imuhar,” sunny, folkloric “Imidiwan,” and “Zigzan,” in which call-and-response vocals and an eerie sonic wash underpin restless, pacing guitar riffs and a repetitive strain riddled with foreboding. Auerbach has guided the project with firm but light hand, adding blessedly little extraneous gloss if a bit too much reverb, thus allowing matters of the desert to find their own way home. Fans of Tinariwen and other trail-blazing Saharan bands will find a lot to like here – plus a not a few bracing surprises.
— Christina Roden