The influence of Malian music continues to reverberate around the globe. Alongside Rokia Traore, Amadou & Mariam and others, the renowned Tinariwen are one of many groups keeping Mali’s international legacy alive. True rebels who put the rock’n’roll posturing of most guitar bands to shame, the musical collective formed in a Libyan refugee camp in 1979, and have remained passionately – and sometimes literally – revolutionary ever since. The band is a cloud of tangled guitars, fleet-footed riffs, chain-gang slogans and dynamic percussion that has a slowly hypnotic effect, gradually building in intensity. Touring in support of upcoming album ‘Elwan’, the band’s politics and sound continue to resonate, perhaps more than ever; the tension, corruption and war surrounding their home has driven them into harder, more forthright idioms: “The tenere has become an upland of thorns/Where elephants fight each other / Crushing tender grass underfoot.” Tinariwen may be weary, but they show no signs of slowing, and their electric rush is still as commanding and inviting as ever. A masterclass in West African blues in the intimate confines of the Glee Club.
Wed 8 Mar 7pm at Glee Club, Arcadian, Hurst Street, Birmingham B5 4TD £22.50 seetickets.com
Words: Chris Donald - Gigs Editor
Published on: Wed 1 Mar 2017