You can scarcely believe your ears: is that really a banjo that can be heard strumming between the now trademark guitars from Tinariwen? Without a doubt. Admittedly, the legendary Tuareg blues pioneers do still sound very much like themselves. But at the same time, there is something different. You can even hear fiddle and pedal steel guitar on their new album.
There are many theories about how much Africa can be found in American popular music, especially in the blues, of course, but not only there. Even the experimental banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck explored his instrument’s African roots, playing with musicians in Tanzania, Mali, Gambia, Senegal and Uganda. Still, the association with the desert rock played by the Tuareg seems aesthetically coherent, if nothing else. The plaintive tones of the steel guitar contributed by Daniel Lanois complement the wistful mood of the music of Tinariwen. Fiddle and banjo match the band’s oft-copied style in their own way. It is as if a musical heartbeat connects the nomads of the Sahara with the cattle herders of the North American plains.
Which would have been a bit of a cultural fib, since cowboys play a fairly small role in the history of country music. But be that as it may. Jack White (White Stripes) probably had more of a feeling in mind when he invited Tinariwen to Nashville to record with country musicians. Corona threw a spanner in the works, but thanks to modern means of communication, the album came about and added some fascinating new facets to the band’s music.
