Favorite Music :: 2024
Some singles, some EPs and some full-length albums.
These have been 50 of my favorite releases of 2024. Selections are in alphabetical order because you can’t rank music.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
2024 Favorite Music (So Far)
Here are my favorite 20 releases of 2024 so far.
Ghosted II by Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin
Live in Paris 1973 by Can
Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons
the Collective by Kim Gordon
Blu Wav by Grandaddy
the Handover by the Handover
Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker
Drop 7 by Little Simz
Two Improvisations by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock
Locust Land by Bill MacKay
Funeral For Justice by Mdou Moctar
the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis by The Messthetics
David Nance & Mowed Sound by David Nance
Bite Down by Rosali
Water Still Flows by Rich Ruth
Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace by Shabaka
Exotic Birds of Prey by Shabazz Palaces
Time Is Glass by Six Organs of Admittance
Africa Yontii by Tidiane Thiam
Tiger’s Blood by Waxahatchee
Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown (2021) :: A Holiday At The Sea (MEGA) Playlist
The next time you’ve got nearly 5 hours to kill, I’ve got the mix for you! These are not necessarily my “favorite songs of 2021.” Instead, these are choice cuts; one representative track from each of my favorite 50 albums of the year. Regardless of length.
Get ready for a ride.
Tracklist:
Pray for Peace by Ustad Saami from East Pakistan Sky
Recessinater by Birds of Maya from Valdez
The People vs. the Rest of Us by Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble from NOW
Bell Song by 75 Dollar Bill featuring Barry Weisblat from Social Music at Troost Vol. 1
Ya Rossoul by Khaira Arby from Khaira Arby In New York (Live In 2010)
Movement by Bell Orchestre from House Music
Broken Mirror (A Selfie Reflection)/Composition 9 by Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley from Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection
Riddim Rek Sa Niouy Mom by Wau Wau Collectif from Yaral Sa Doom
All That They Left You by Six Organs of Admittance from The Veiled Sea
Days Like These by Low from Hey What
VBS by Lucy Dacus from Home Video
Brothers by Phil Cook from All These Years
Dark In Here by the Mountain Goats from Dark In Here
Djougoh by Nahawa Doumbia from Kanawa
The Call by Madlib from Sound Ancestors
Beat Up Born Where I Come From by Ghost of Vroom from Ghost of Vroom 1
Dovetail by Girls in Airports from Leap
descension (Out of Our Constrictions) III by Natural Information Society and Evan Parker from descension (Out of Our Constrictions)
Beowulf’s Trip by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders from Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders
World is Turning by Rose City Band from Earth Trip
Disposable Thumbs by Endless Boogie from Admonitions
Staggering With a Lantern by Mountain Movers from World What World
Albuquerque by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis from CARNAGE
OUR SIDE HAS TO WIN (for D.H.) by Godspeed You! Black Emperor from G_d's Pee At States End!
Juvenescence by Yasmin Williams from Urban Driftwood
Invisible Map by Derek Piotr from Making and Then Unmaking
You Can Regret What You Have Done by Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy from Superwolves
This Old World by Billy Strings from Renewal
Kelp Highway by Drew Gardner from Drew Gardner
Jnoun ! by Bachar Mar-Khalifé from Ghost Songs
In Remembrance Of Those Fallen by Sons of Kemet from Black To The Future
Bertha The Cool by Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog from Hope
Give Me Back My Loving by Leo Nocentelli from Another Side
Don’t Let The Tears by Howlin’ Rain from The Dharma Wheel
Tree of Tule by Daniel Lanois from Heavy Sun
Way To Cairo by Native Soul from Teenage Dreams
Ethiopian Sunshower by Adrian Younge And Ali Shaheed Muhammad from Brian Jackson JID008
Zengadyw Derekou by Hailu Mergia from Tezeta
Ya Habibti by Mdou Moctar from Afrique Victime
Tropicale Moon by Mouth Painter from Tropicale Moon
Natural Facts by Wet Tuna from Eu’d To A Fake Boogie Volume 4
Shrinks the Day by Ryley Walker and Kikagaku Moyo from Deep Fried Grandeur
Musungu Elongo Paints His Face White to Scare Small Children by Kasai Allstars from Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound
Trap Life by Sault from Nine
Désert by Dobe Gnahoré from Couleur
Part 1 by Elkhorn from The Golden Lag
If It Comes In The Morning by Hiss Golden Messenger from Quietly Blowing It
Morning River by Steve Gunn from Other You
Shiva With Dustpan by Ryley Walker from Course In Fable
Cortez the Killer (live) by Neil Young and Crazy Horse from Way Down In The Rust Bucket
Browse my favorite albums of the year
Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish
Browse my favorite books of 2021
Browse my favorite movies of 2021
Browse my favorite television of 2021
Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”
2021 Year In Review :: Favorite Albums
Here’s the dealio, my coolios.
Each year, I keep a running diary of sorts of all of the things I liked each year. If you’re interested (which I doubt you are), you can follow along with my real-time unedited yearly bookkeeping here.
At the end of each year I try to cull down the music section to what really defined my year musically. No ranking. Just great music. Here are 50 of my favorite 2021 albums in alphabetical order.
Albums In Visual Alphabetical Order:
Albums In Alphabetical Alphabetical Order:
Social Music at Troost Vol.1 by 75 Dollar Bill
Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders // Elixor of Life by Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders
Khaira Arby in New York (Live in 2010) by Khaira Arby
House Music by Bell Orchestre
Valdez by Birds of Maya
Carnage by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
All These Years by Phil Cook
Home Video by Lucy Dacus
Kanawa by Nahawa Doumbia
The Golden Lag by Elkhorn
Admonitions by Endless Boogie
Drew Gardner by Drew Gardner
Ghost of Vroom 1 by Ghost of Vroom
Leap by Girls in Airports
Couleur by Dobet Gnahoré
G_d's Pee At States End! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Other You by Steve Gunn
Quietly Blowing It by Hiss Golden Messenger
The Dharma Wheel by Howlin’ Rain
Brian Jackson JID008 by Brian Jackson, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge
Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound by Kasai Allstars
Heavy Sun by Daniel Lanois
Now by Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble
Hey What by Low
Sound Ancestors by Madlib
Hope by Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog
Ghost Songs by Bachar Mar-Khalifé
Tezeta by Hailu Mergia
Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar
Dark In Here by the Mountain Goats
World What World by Mountain Movers
Tropicale Moon by Mouth Painter
Teenage Dreams by Native Soul
descension (Out of Our Constrictions) by Natural Information Society/Evan Parker
Another Side by Leo Nocentelli (1971)
Making and Then Unmaking by Derek Piotr
Earth Trip by Rose City Band
East Pakistan Sky by Ustad Saami
Nine by Sault
The Veiled Sea by Six Organs of Admittance
Black to the Future by Sons of Kemet
Renewal by Billy Strings
Superwolves by Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
Deep Fried Grandeur by Ryley Walker And Kikagaku Moyo
Course In Fable by Ryley Walker
Yaral Sa Doom by Wau Wau Collectif
Eau’d To A Fake Boogie Volume 4 by Wet Tuna
Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection by Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley
Urban Driftwood by Yasmin Williams
Way Down in the Rust Bucket by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Browse my favorite albums of the year
Browse my “2021 Yearly Wrap-it-Up” which is really a ramble about seeing Phish
Browse my favorite books of 2021
Browse my favorite movies of 2021
Browse my favorite television of 2021
Listen to a nearly 5-hour very low quality mix of one song from each of my favorite albums of 2021 called “Soundtrack to the Collective Meltdown”
Mdou Moctar Live in Niamey, Niger
From the video’s Youtube Page:
“In winter 2020, the Mdou Moctar band met up in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to record a few songs in anticipation of the release of, Afrique Victime. We were staying on the outskirts of town at a friend's home. One day, we quietly set up in front of the house to film a few songs. Despite our relative isolation, the noise of the band inevitably attracted a crowd. What started as the four of us simply playing a few songs for a camera turned into a three-night run of rowdy concerts, bringing in hundreds of eager listeners. Each night, kids from all over the city would line up at our door, rushing over after their final evening prayer. These performances were completely spontaneous and wholly unplanned. Thanks to our audience, we were able to capture the spectacular energy of a typical Niamey concert for you. We're thrilled about it and hope you will be, too. Enjoy! “
Setlist:
Tala Tannam
Anna
Chismiten
Iblis Amghar
Soucome Tamachek
Afrique Victime
Chet Boghassa
Important People:
Footage shot by: Mamadou Halidou & WH Moustapha / Dynamique image
Audio Recorded by: Mikey Coltun
Mixed and Mastered by Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets
Visit Mdou Moctar’s Facebook page
Follow Mdou Moctar on Twitter
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Bandcamp
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Amazon
Listen to Tarha” by Mdou Moctar, from the ‘Blue Stage Session,’ featured on Episode 43 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow
Visit all Holiday at the Sea Mdou Moctar posts
Mdou Moctar: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert (2021)
Tuareg wunderkind Mdou Moctar performs (at home) for the NPR Tiny Desk and this is my love language.
Setlist:
Ya Habibti
Tala Tannam
Afrique Victime
Players:
Mahamadou "Mdou Moctar" Souleymane: lead guitar, vocals
Ahmoudou Madassane: rhythm guitar, vocals
Mikey Coltun: bass
Souleymane Ibrahim: calabash
Important People:
Video: Mamadou Halidou, WH Moustapha, Sabrina Nichols
Audio: Mikey Coltun, Seth Manchester
Special Thanks: Dynamique Image and Machines with Magnets
Tiny Desk People:
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Kara Frame
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
Tiny Production Team: Maia Stern, Gabrielle Pierre
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
Visit Mdou Moctar’s Facebook page
Follow Mdou Moctar on Twitter
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Bandcamp
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Amazon
Listen to Tarha” by Mdou Moctar, from the ‘Blue Stage Session,’ featured on Episode 43 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow
Visit all Holiday at the Sea Mdou Moctar posts
Tuareg Guitar: Welcome To Saharan Desert Rock
I have made my love of Tuareg Guitar music known to you, dear friends. So the following mix should come as no surprise. As if any of you are waiting around to be surprised by the music mixes I post. But, hey, you go have your own weird daydreams, alright?!
The Sahel Sounds Records Tuareg Guitar page says:
“Tuareg guitar has become one of the most popular folk music in the contemporary Sahara. Originally political ballads, created in exile in Libya, today the sound has expanded to encompass everything from introspective love songs, blistering psychedelic rock, and synthesizer and drum machine. At its core, the music still relies on poetry to transmit a message, carried by the pentatonic solos of a guitar.”
Here is a mix of songs from some of my current favorite Tuareg albums.
Tracklisting:
“Itous” (Live) by Tamikrest
“Nar djenetbouba” by Tinariwen
“Wiwasharnine” by Mdou Moctar
“Idrach” by Timasniwen
“Afous Dafous” by Tartit
“Ici Bas” by Songhoy Blues
“ASCO” by Ali Farka Touré
“Chebiba” by Tallawit Timbouctou
“Imigradan” by Les Filles de Illighadad
“Alemin” by Group Inerane
“Tenere” by Afous d'Afous
“Tekana” by Etran Finatawa
“Dounia” by Toumast
"Amidinin Senta Aneflas” by Terakaft
“Tamudre” by Imarhan
“Ameji (douleur)” by Imaran
Tumastin by Amanar
Browse other Holiday at the Sea playlists.
Sahel Sounds presents "Music from Saharan WhatsApp"
The Sahel region of northwestern Africa, spans several countries including: Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, and includes dozens of languages and dialects. This region produces some of my favorite music in the world (browse my posts tagged “Tuareg”). And one of my favorite labels putting out some of my favorite music is Sahel Sounds.
Pitchfork says that at least part of the reason label owner Christopher Kirkley chose to work in the Sahel region was “in part because it was so hard to find English-language information about it.” The label’s website says:
“We work directly with artists that we represent and aim to have input and control over artistic endeavors. All profits are shared 50/50. We’re committed to using culture as a means of communication, helping our artists build careers, and listening to good music.”
Preview the trailer for 2016 German trailer about the label (which is available to watch at Amazon Prime):
In 2010, the label put out the terrific and fascinating Music From Saharan Cellphones compilation. The compilation’s Bandcamp page provides some context:
“Music from Saharan cellphones is a compilation of music collected from memory cards of cellular phones in the Saharan desert.
In much of West Africa, cellphones are are used as all purpose multimedia devices. In lieu of personal computers and high speed internet, the knockoff cellphones house portable music collections, playback songs on tinny built in speakers, and swap files in a very literal peer to peer Bluetooth wireless transfer.”
The compilation not only helped highlight music from the region but was, for many, the first exposure to Tuareg guitar wizard Mdou Moctar, whose album Ilana (The Creator) was one of my favorites of 2019. Now, 10 years later, the label presents the follow-up to the ground-breaking compilation, Music from Saharan WhatsApp.
“For the year of 2020, Sahel Sounds presents "Music from Saharan WhatsApp." Every month, we'll be releasing an EP from a musical group in the Sahel. Every album will be recorded on a cellphone, and transmitted over WhatsApp, and uploaded to Bandcamp - where it will live for one month only. Available for pay as you want, 100% of the sales will go directly to the artist or group. After one month, the album will be replaced by another one, until the end of the year.”
The label profiles the first installment at the Bandcamp page:
“This month's release comes from Agadez guitar band, Etran de L'Aïr. Translated to "Star's of Agadez," Etran is one of the longest running wedding bands in a city renowned for guitar. Constantly playing in the outdoor weddings, both in the city and the surrounding countryside, Etran play exhaustive concerts, late into the night. Even for a guitar band, they push the instrument to the extreme, with three guitars playing simultaneously, soloing over one another, creating a dreamy cacophony of sound. This session was recorded at night in their home in Abala, just outside the center of Agadez. "We invited friends over to the home, for encouragement," says Moussa "Abindi" Ibra. "But we asked them not to make too much noise, for the sake of the recording."
Preview the first EP here:
Holiday at the Sea's Favorite Music of 2019
2019 has been a great year for music. From 30-minute mind-melting jams to Tuareg guitar and all kinds in between. I LOVE year-end lists. I love seeing what other people loved, especially if I can find something I hadn’t heard before. And to a lesser extent, who doesn’t like having their tastes confirmed by people much cooler?
But I don’t necessarily like ranking everything. After all, every list is subjective. And is there really any music that is “best”? Maybe you preferred one album to others, but does that really mean it’s “better”? Excuse me while I step off of my soapbox.
And I don’t like not hearing what people recommend. So, as you already know, I made a four-volume mix of some of my favorite music of the year, which I hope you’ve already checked out. If not, feel free to do so here and here and here and here. Also, just one more time of review, I chose 50 songs this year but only 49 albums since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single.
Now that you’ve had a chance to to hear the songs, here is the complete list in alphabetical order.
I Was Real by 75 Dollar Bill
Mandatory Reality by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Ancestral Recall by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
U.F.O.F. by Big Thief
Sahari by Aziza Brahim
RE_CORDIS by Bruno Bavota
i,i by Bon Iver
V by The Budos Band
African Giant by Burna Boy
Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest by Bill Callahan
Ghosteen by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
All My Relations by Cochemea
A Good Time by Davido
Grow Towards The Light by Dire Wolves
Sun Cycle / Elk Jam by Elkhorn
Pianoworks by Eluvium
Blue Values by Eamon Fogarty
All Time Present by Chris Forsyth
Gold Past Life by Fruit Bats
One Of The Best Yet by Gang Starr
One Step Behind by Garcia Peoples
The Unseen In Between by Steve Gunn
Back At The House by Hemlock Ernst and Kenny Segal
The Gospel According to Water Joe Henry
Terms of Surrender by Hiss Golden Messenger
More Arriving by Sarathy Korwar
Miri by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Sauropoda by L'Eclair
Ilana (The Creator) by Mdou Moctar
Stars Are The Light by Moon Duo
Three Chords and the Truth by Van Morrison
All Mirrors by Angel Olsen
Desire Path by One Eleven Heavy
Phoenix by Pedro the Lion
Rainford by Lee “Scratch” Perry
Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains
Rose City Band by Rose City Band
‘Sideways’ by Seryn
Out of Darkness by Some Dark Hollow
Illegal Moves by Sunwatchers
Amankor / The Exile by Tartit
Amadjar by Tinariwen
Preserves by Matt Valentine
Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend
Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten
Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits by Various Artists
Water Weird by Wet Tuna
Ode To Joy by Wilco
The Sisypheans by Xylouris White
Walk Through The Fire by Yola
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Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
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Holiday at the Sea’s Favorite Music Label of 2019
My Favorite music label of the year would have to be, without a doubt, Brooklyn’s Beyond Beyond is Beyond. Self-describes as: "“Music for Heads, by Heads,” which just about sums it up. More a vibe than a genre. A way of thinking than a particular style.
With five out of my favorite 49 albums of the year; (Dire Wolves, Garcia Peoples, L'Eclair, One Eleven Heavy, and Matt Valentine (plus, if I had expanded my list or included an “Honorable Mentions” section, this list would have expanded even more. That De Lorians is really good to mention only one more), no other single label presented as much music that I wanted to hear this year.
I can’t wait to hear what’s next.
Holiday at the Sea's Favorite 2019 Music Mix (Volume 01)
I love year-end lists.
I love to see what other people loved. Especially people I respect who can introduce me to new music (and to a lesser extent, have my tastes validated by people cooler than me). But I don’t dig ranking everything. After all, it’s all subjective in the first place. You may not like what I like, and I probably don’t like what you do, and that’s OK. The past couple of years, I’ve done unranked, alphabetical lists. But this year I’d doing something different. (though there will still be an unranked, alphabetical list at the end).
Over the next several days, I’ll post four different playlists of some of my favorite music of 2019; selections from my favorite albums. Each mix is as close to an hour as I could get it. There are 50 songs, but if you want to be specific, there are only 49 albums represented since ‘Sideways’ by Seryn was released as a single and not part of an album. After lots of finagling, I just decided to leave it that way. It is what it is and it is all great. I hope you enjoy. Here’s the first installment.
Volume 01:
Volume 01 Tracklisting:
‘Out Of The Blue’ by Bruno Bavota from the album RE_CORDIS
‘Cuatro Proverbios’ by Aziza Brahim from the album Sahari
‘Tetuzi Akiyama’ by 75 Dollar Bill from the album I Was Real
‘All My Relations’ by Cochemea from the album All My Relations
‘Family and Loyalty’ by Gang Starr from the album One Of The Best Yet
‘Harmony Hall’ by Vampire Weekend from the album Father of the Bride
‘Taqkal Tarha’ by Tinariwen from the album Amadjar
‘Tomorrow Might as Well Be Today’ by Chris Forsyth from the album All Time Present
‘Wiwasharnine’ by Mdou Moctar from the album Ilana (The Creator)
‘Slabs of the Sunburnt West’ by Hemlock Ernst and Kenny Segal from the album Back At The House
‘Fall in Your Love’ by Moon Duo from the album Stars Are The Light
‘I Need a Teacher’ by Hiss Golden Messenger from the album Terms of Surrender
‘Gold Past Life’ by Fruit Bats from the album Gold Past Life
‘Sideways’ by Seryn // Released as a single
‘Afous Dafous’ by Tartit from the album Amankor / The Exile
‘Fear Song’ by Rose City Band from the album Rose City Band
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Mdou Moctar: Hopscotch Music Festival (09/07/19) // NYC Taper
Once again we are incredibly indebted to the fine folks over at NYC Taper. This time, for capturing one of my current favorite artists, Mdou Moctar (Read more about Moctar at my post here).
Read my recent post about Moctar here and hear “Tarha” by Mdou Moctar, from the ‘Blue Stage Session,’ featured on Episode 43 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow here. In the meantime, here’s NYC Taper’s notes for the show:
“On the final night of the Hopscotch Music Festival, our buds at Kings curated an eclectic show that featured two recordings we have already shared (Moon Duo and Boogarins), a superb set from “house” band Birds of Avalon, Kid Millions, and another very special international guest, Mdou Moctar. Hailing from a small village in Niger, Moctar has received international acclaim as one of the best-known Tuareg guitarists. If you’re not familiar with the Saharan brand of rock music, or you have no idea what that means, let me put it more simply: this guy shreds like Jimi Hendrix. His latest LP, Ilana, the Creator was recorded in Detroit, and is already making its way onto early “best of 2019” lists for obvious reasons. Moctar’s work is special not only for its technical virtuosity but for his willingness to expand upon the genre’s conventions, as well as focus on original music over standards and covers. These four songs will give you a taste of what Moctar is about, but really, do yourself a favor and head to Sahel Sounds to get educated not only about his work, but the variety of 21st century African artists they represent. (Jesse Jarnow wrote an excellent piece about the label here). And keep your eye on those “best of 2019” lists — I know Mdou Moctar is making mine.
I recorded this set with onstage Schoeps MK5 microphones, MBHO microphones back at the soundboard, and a soundboard feed. The sound is excellent. Enjoy!
Thanks to Mdou Moctar and his management team for letting us share the recording.
Download the complete show: [FLAC/ALAC/MP3]
Stream the show here.
Further details and setlist:
Mdou Moctar
2019-09-07
Hopscotch Music Festival
Kings
Raleigh, NC USA
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Soundboard + Schoeps MK5c (onstage, XY)>KC5>CMC6 + MBHO MBP603a/KA200N (at SBD, PAS)>Aerco MP-2>>Sound Devices MixPre6>24/48 polyWAV>Adobe Audition CC>Izotope Ozone 5>Audacity 2.3.0>FLAC ( level 8 )
01 Iblis Amghar
02 [tuning]
03 Ilana
04 Afrique Victime
05 Tarhatazed
Visit Mdou Moctar’s Facebook page.
Follow Mdou Moctar on Twitter.
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Bandcamp.
Purchase Mdou Moctar’s music at Amazon.
Listen to Tarha” by Mdou Moctar, from the ‘Blue Stage Session,’ featured on Episode 43 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.
Please consider supporting NYC Taper for all the great work they do in making so much terrific music available.
You Had Me At Tuareg Guitar: 2019 Albums From Mdou Moctar and Tinariwen
Sometimes known as “Desert Blues.”
Sometimes known as “Saharan Rock.”
Sometimes known as “Tuareg Guitar.”
Whatever you call it, there is a style of music closely associated with the Tuareg people (Kel Tamashek) and the geography of the Western Sahara desert, from Morocco extending to Mali. Steeped in its stark, unforgiving geography, and a political climate to match, the music is a derivative of blues rock and relies on open tunings and repetitive, droning, of patterns played over skittering percussion often creating an effect that many might equate with psychedelic rock. Many of the lyrics are centuries old poems and stories passed down from one generation to another. It is often highly political and is always rooted in its time, place, and people. The Tuareg people are one of the largest confederations of African Berbers and have often had to fight for their own survival and identity, whether against French colonialists, or the Malian, or Nigerian governments.
Cooked up in the sunbaked desert and under breathing the air of political struggle, “Desert Blues” often reflects the shimmery simmer of the desert heat; the very fight just to survive somewhere that seems to be actively working against you being there in the first place, which of course extends to the political struggles endured by these resilient people. The Blues isn’t just about being Blue, it’s about the fight to keep on living despite what life may bring. Often reflecting the nomadic nature of its creators, Desert Blues can be both transcendent and imminently urgent; joyous and defiant all at once. You have to live where you find yourself, even if you know you’ll be moving along soon. The fantastic label Sahel Sounds (home to Mdou Moctar) describes the music as:
“Tuareg guitar has become one of the most popular folk music in the contemporary Sahara. Originally political ballads, created in exile in Libya, today the sound has expanded to encompass everything from introspective love songs, blistering psychedelic rock, and synthesizer and drum machine. At its core, the music still relies on poetry to transmit a message, carried by the pentatonic solos of a guitar.”
The music has gained popularity over the years, in large part riding the visibility of artists like Bombino, Tinariwen, and now Mdou Moctar. Both Moctar and Tinariwen released fantastic albums in 2019 that deserve to be listened to, not just heard.
In fact, Mdou Moctar released two albums this year. The first, was released to less fanfare and has largely flown under the radar, but in January, 2019, Jack White’s Third Man Records released Moctar’s ‘Blue Stage Session,’ a live album recorded in 2018 at Third Man Cass Corridor in Detroit.
This live set preceded Moctar’s proper studio debut, ‘Ilana (The Creator)’ which appeared three months later, in March, 2019, but the ‘Blue Stage Session’ is no less important, featuring several tracks that didn’t make it on to the later studio album, including opener ‘Tarha,’ which explodes with repeated psychedelic swirls and pounding percussion, displaying that this Moctar is not just a studio musician but a live force to be reckoned with. Much has been made about Moctar’s backstory which bears repeating if you haven’t already heard it: Moctar was raised in a strictly religious home where music was forbidden. But, much like the little boy in Coco, Moctar would not be deterred, fashioning a clandestine guitar for himself out of a piece of wood strung with brake wires from an old bicycle. He practiced in secret for hours and is a self-taught guitarist of the highest caliber.
That determination and zeal is woven throughout this live performance. This is someone who is playing because he has to. There is an urgency to the music and reminds us all of the importance music can play. It can help us rise above our circumstances while also preserving the story of the struggle to be heard. Moctar combines traditional blues with Saharan tunings and charges at the listener with guitar shreddery that doesn’t shred just to show off but because it’s in his soul.
The live ‘Blue Stage Session’ release was followed in March 2019 by Moctar’s full-band studio debut ‘Ilana (The Creator).’ The studio album succeeds in large part because it is able to capture that sense of joyous urgency made apparent in the live set. Lots of bands are great live but struggle in the studio, or vice versa, but Moctar shows that, despite his self-taught nature (or maybe because of it?), he is adept at both.
Some of the songs have a slightly slower tempo which does not hinder from the music’s urgency but does allow for the guitar playing to shine through as the real star. Moctar’s repeated patterns draw you in with their drone-like qualities, but it’s also clear that this music shares a lineage with the choogle-boogie of John Lee Hooker, early ZZ Top, and others. The studio allows the songs room to breathe while also retaining their spontaneity (the album was largely recorded live in the studio). Recorded in Detroit at the tail-end of touring, the band was cohesive and tight yet the compositions don’t lose any of their spaciousness or immediacy. The added production of the studio is minimal and the tracks were then taken back to Niger for final production.
While Moctar’s music draws focuses a self-taught guitarist, Tinariwen is a Desert Blues collective. The same swirling, insistent guitars and driving percussion are present, but the focus is never on a single player. Watch a short documentary about the band and the new album here.
Tinariwen was was formed in 1979 in Algeria, but returned to their native in the 1990’s after a cease-fire. Perhaps more than anyone else (possibly with the exception of Bombino?) Tinariwen have been at the forefront of bringing Tuareg guitar to the world’s attention. The group has done this by relentless touring including Denmark’s Roskilde Festival and high-profile fans including NPR and others.
Tinariwen has also held closely to a collaborative approach throughout its history, not just within the group but drawing from outside as well. On ‘Amadjar’ Tinariwen’s ninth album, collaborators appear on many of the tracks. For example, five tracks here feature Warren Ellis of The Dirty Three and Bad Seeds fame and there are other notable collaborators including Willie Nelson’s son Micah on ‘Taqkal Tarha’ and Cass McCombs on closing track ‘Lalla’. The band recorded these tracks in the camper-van turned studio in Southern Morocco (watch the video featured here).
The tempos are often slower than Moctar’s but the music is no less insistent, driving, or mesmerizing, swirling in and out of complex patterns forming a droning effect that rises like the desert shimmer but, like the desert, doesn’t want you staying in one place for too long. This is music shaped by and for life’s journey, as difficult as it often is. This shimmering swirl lays the perfect foundation for someone like Ellis, who's violin punctuations serve as a counterpoint for the electrifying solos of a songs like the album’s second track ‘Zawal.” The vocals throughout the album are often presented in a call and response pattern which draws the listener in to a collaborative experience evoking the desert haze and the joyful fierceness of living. Noura Mint Seymali’s vocals soar above ‘Amalouna’ but never leave us below. We hear in the choir-response and we feel her short but piercing vocal solo. The danger with bringing in collaborators is that a group might lose their own sense of identity, but ‘Amadjar’ finds Tinariwen bringing their collaborators along for the journey rather than finding themselves drowned out. This is, without a doubt, a Tinariwen record and it is a very good one.
The album’s acoustic guitars, violin and even mandolin remind us of the folk/rural nature of the music’s origins, but it is always insistent music, perhaps because of the nomadic nature of its creators; it is driven by urgent percussion, even when the vocals feel calm, even joyous. It is this struggle between transcendence and imminence, between the journey to wherever is next and finding one’s self on that journey that has always been at the heart of Tinariwen’s music and ‘Amadjar’ finds the band, perhaps content with the journey, but not standing still by any means.