To not get all chamber of commerce-y about it, however Seattle has performed an important function in laying the muse for Saharan rock’s present recognition. Within the ’00s whereas primarily based within the Emerald Metropolis, the esteemed world music label Elegant Frequencies issued transformative releases by Group Bombino, Group Doueh, and Koudede. Thus started the groundswell of Western curiosity in heat-hazed, mantric rock that’s imbued with the blues’ capability to transmute oppression into transcendent artwork.
However the actual growth in guitar-centric African music occurred within the 2010s, when artists corresponding to Bombino, Mdou Moctar, Tinariwen, Les Filles de Illighadad, and Tamikrest broke out into America’s reside circuit. Etran de L’Aïr have joined these compelling musicians within the twenty first century’s nice Desert Rock Invasion.
Putting out from Agadez, Niger, Etran de L’Aïr (henceforth, EDL) encompass three brothers and a cousin: bassist Abdoulaye “Illa” Ibrahim, drummer Alghabid Ghabdouan, guitarist/vocalist Moussa “Abindi” Ibra, and guitarist/vocalist Abdourahamane “Allamine” Ibrahim.
They fashioned in 1995 as younger lads (group chief Abindi was 9), taking part in Niger’s demanding wedding ceremony circuit and singing in Tamasheq, a language spoken primarily by nomadic tribes in North and West Africa. Only a few People know Tamasheq, which may very well be thought of an obstacle to enjoyment, however the grain and depth of EDL’s vocals make it straightforward to grasp the gamers’ profound pleasure and unhappiness.
In line with EDL’s Portland-based label, Sahel Sounds, the members belonged to nomadic households that settled in Agadez after escaping the droughts of the Nineteen Seventies. Once they began the group, EDL solely had one acoustic guitar and so they’d thwack a calabash with a sandal for percussion. Earlier than they attained American patronage, EDL would haul their very own gear whereas on foot, typically traversing 25 kilometers (about 15 miles), to play free gigs.
Now three albums deep into their official music-biz profession, EDL have tailored to this hemisphere’s protocols. That being stated, their songs really feel as if they’re theoretically infinite and that they solely truncate them into manageable durations to placate the calls for and a spotlight spans of the Western music business. On their residence turf, although, EDL have been identified to play units that might make Springsteen’s band appear like slackers.
Saharan rock is a distant cousin of America’s desert rock, which arose in 1997 out of jam periods manifested by stoner-rock behemoths Kyuss. Whereas each strains of desert rock depend on repetition to drive residence their incisive riffs, and each have their psychedelic moments, the American model doesn’t faucet into spirituality and strife like its African counterparts do—except you depend working out of marijuana and getting sunburned to be severe hardships.
With the 2018 debut album, No. 1, EDL established their galvanizing strategy and have continued on that path with few deviations by 2022’s Agadez and 2024’s 100% Sahara Guitar. The opening monitor from No. 1, “Etran Hymne,” bears tough constancy, however the guitars’ liquid gold tone is buoyed by beats which have a lopsided propulsion. What appears like an agitated girls’s choir ululates wildly, whereas the lads sing in unison with poised defiance. That combo by no means will get outdated. On “Agrim Agadez,” the awkward beats conflict with the coruscating guitar riffs. That is peak Saharan rock: roiling, trance-inducing juggernauts with intricately interlocking guitar motifs and massed vocals conveying indomitable pleasure amongst hardships that comfy Westerners can not fathom. “Hadija” conjures slow-rolling hypnosis with these mad woman trills within the background. Sure, there’s little or no variation within the rhythms, however the guitar/bass/vocal interplay is commonly riotous.
Sophomore LP Agadez boasts fuller manufacturing, boosting the songs’ influence whereas avoiding slickness. “Imouwizla” immediately pleases with easy-rolling blues rock, albeit with that patented rhythm which feels as should you’re on a merry-go-round with a sputtering motor. The galloping and undulating rock of “Toubouk Ine Chihoussay” accrues an irrepressible momentum, with the principle cyclical guitar riff positively spangling with euphoria. If EDL have a “hit” single, that is it. “Karade Marhane” is an outlier with its darker mode and coiled rhythm, however it’s nonetheless a trance-inducer. The album closes with “Tarha Warghey Ichile,” a celebratory banger that begins at an outstanding velocity after which accelerates close to the tip. You may think about this went down a storm on the many Nigerien weddings EDL performed.
EDL’s newest album, 100% Sahara Guitar, begins auspiciously with “Ighre Massina,” during which ebullient vocals, tight, cyclical guitar riffs (Moussa and Allamine are the Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd of Africa), and ratatat drums that make you are feeling as should you’re working with one leg a lot shorter than the opposite. “Igrawahi” is EDL’s most laid-back track, and it’s good to listen to some variation in tempo and depth. The singing is as attractive and craving because the glowing, mesmerizing guitars. In a greater world, “Igrawahi” could be a smash hit. “Amidinine” rolls like a diamond-encrusted tank over dunes, unstoppable and glinting within the unforgiving solar.
As exhilarating as their recordings are, EDL are, by all stories, much more thrilling reside. They’re touring over 7,000 miles to hit Seattle, so that you’d greatest imagine Etran de L’Aïr will carry the desert warmth to zap your blues.
Etran de L’Aïr carry out April 8 at Neumos, 7 pm, 21+.
