Amatssou

Tinariwen - Amatssou
Reviewed by Brady-O 1/25/2025
(RIYL): Ali Farka Toure, No Blues

Another classic Tinariwen piece with the same sound you know and love, this time accompanied by a couple of American folk artists/producers, embellishing Tinariwen’s signature sound with the sounds of western #folk. Elevated production leaves this album feeling cosmically influential.

Tinariwen are a group of Tuaregs; children of a nomadic Berber tribe who have roamed the Saharan desert for thousands of years due to the partitioning of their ancestral territory into the countries of Mali, Algeria, Niger, and Libya. Every Tinariwen track is soaked in the context of this pain, evoking scenes of endlessly marching through the #desert searching for a home that once was.

All tracks are superb. I have starred some standouts.
**FCC Warning: I do NOT speak Tamashek (only .01% of the globe speaks this language.), so I cannot be certain there are no FCC violations, but there are no indications of explicit language anywhere on the description of these tracks. You should be good to go.

1. 3:31 *- Galloping/cantering fun.
2. 3:32 **- Introduction of a playful fiddle played by Fats Kaplin that blends American folk with Tinariwen’s signature guitar style. A smiling good ride-along time.
3. 3:58 - Classic Tinariwen
4. 1:02 - An interlude with a bowed instrument of some kind, very short and nice.
5. 5:12 - Classic Tinariwen
6. 5:59 ***- Very special. A beefier production introduces an ambient spacey accompaniment going on in the background, this gives the impression of the greater cosmic nature of this type of music. The vocals are turned up to 11 and sound extra pained, extra heavy.
7. 3:32 - Classic Tinariwen
8. 5:27 **- Very catchy, the fiddle makes a soft reappearance, nice touch.
9. 3:44 ***- Fun call-and-response diddy with a dance groove. Nice spacey steel guitar by Fats as well as a little banjo, maybe?
10. 3:23 - Classic Tinariwen
11. 5:29 - Downtempo lament with a spaced-out steel guitar by Fats Kaplin in the background.
12. 2:12 - No guitar, just a drum line with a female vocalist, hypnotic chanting chorus. Sounds very traditional.