This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's an old trope that rock 'n' roll bands are purveyors of rebellion — grow out that hair, don't be just another suit working a 9-to-5, stick it to the man.
The members of the band Tinariwen, though, have experienced "rebellion" in a far more literal sense.
They are Tuareg tribesmen from a Saharan mountain range between northeastern Mali and southern Algeria, an area that has seen near-constant war since Mali gained independence from French colonialism more than half a century ago. As a young child, singer and guitarist Ibrahim Ag Alhabib witnessed his father's execution during a Tuareg uprising against the Malian government in 1963. Some of the band members later underwent military training at the hands of dictator Moammar Gadhafi (who sought to turn displaced Tuareg residing in Libya into a Saharan regiment in his army), then used it to participate in another Tuareg revolt against Mali in 1990. Today, the area is beset by infighting among splinter Tuareg groups, with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) often battling a newer faction called Ansar Dine, which seeks to impose Sharia Law throughout the region.
So yes, Tinariwen — which translates loosely to "deserts" in their native Tamasheq dialect — know a thing or two about protest songs. And they will play them for the people of Salt Lake City on Friday at The State Room.
Group member Eyadou Ag Leche, who plays bass, acoustic guitar and calabash, and contributes backing vocals, said via a translator in an email interview that while Tinariwen are looking to bring more awareness to the Tuareg situation, they more generally want to shine a light on all global conflict.
"Of course we have a message, specially from our experiences, but it should [apply] to the world, for all the population!" he said. "For sure we have all some conviction to do something, to help ...to wake up the collective conscience and responsibility in how we are building the world of tomorrow!"
Ag Alhabib, who early on was exposed to the music of Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, would wind up constructing his first "guitar" from a stick, a tin can and some bicycle brake wire. Later, in the late 1970s, he and other Tuareg rebels formed a loose musical collective that also drew inspiration from Moroccan festival music and Algerian pop. After acquiring Western musical instruments, they would record songs on cassette tapes, which were passed around and traded at refugee camps.
By 1998, their unique fusion of Middle Eastern-style poetic chanting layered on top of electric guitars and bass lines was earning them notice in western Europe, and within a few years, they were playing festivals in France, Belgium and Denmark. They soon got help hosting a festival in Mali, and soon enough were touring Europe, Australia, North America and Japan.
"For us it was the symbol of modernity at first! And a big interest from our people for this is crucial for our story," said Ag Leche. "Since year 2000, we have some possibility to work professionally on our style, to be authentic, with the natural fidelity at our origins!"
They have been recording and touring ever since, all the while collecting an ever-larger group of admirers from the music industry. Santana, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, U2's Bono and Edge, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Coldplay's Chris Martin have all publicly professed their fandom. Tinariwen's more recent albums have featured guest spots from members of TV on the Radio, Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their 2011 album, "Tassili," won a Grammy for "Best World Music Album."
Their 2017 recording, "Elwan" (or "Elephants"), meanwhile, is meant to express the devastation their homeland has suffered, the aftermath of decades of fighting that continues even now. On the track "Ténéré Tàqqàl" ("What Has Become of the Desert") they sing: "The strongest impose their will/And leave the weakest behind/Many have died battling for twisted ends/And joy has abandoned us, exhausted by all this duplicity."
"They left our land as [if] some nervous elephants crossed some gardens!" Ag Leche said.
In the end, even if the people of Salt Lake do not understand the Tamasheq lyrics Tinariwen sing to them, it is Ag Leche's hope that concertgoers will nevertheless be able to pick up on the underlying feelings and message.
"To feel the power for each one to be open and to take his responsibility to be, simply," he said, "we wish all together to find the best way for the world of tomorrow!"
Twitter: @esotericwalden —
With Dengue Fever
When • Friday night, doors at 8, show at 9
Where • The State Room, 638 S. State Street, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $30; Ticketfly