Dag Tenere – Iswat (EP)
Independent – Out Now
I had thought it was only a year or so, but in fact, it was nearly twenty years ago. We were having an early supper in a small cafe in Oxford before going on to a concert. The table was downstairs, and as we began our meal, voices from above started to descend. First, we realised that the language was French but with an accent that did not place it in France. Then the voices took form in long flowing garments, black with surprises of colour as the animated group came down the stairs. And there was something familiar about them. Perhaps never quick on the uptake, I realised that this must be the band we were going to see. At that moment, I fell in love with the personalities, the paradox of sombre and colour, of flamboyance and restraint. Not long after, I fell in love with assouf, or the Desert Blues.
Since then, other loves have come and gone, but that is primarily my fault for wanting to taste all and not necessarily always staying with the same thing. Anyway, life might be constrained, if not downright dull, if we didn’t flit about, at least as far as music is concerned.
So, it is great to hear a recent addition to Desert Blues from Dag Tenere and their EP Iswat. And if you need something to grab your attention, play the first track, Derhanin, really loud. It’s only short (1:18), but if that doesn’t grab you and set the scene, then questions may be raised about your emotional responses! You will want to know what’s next, and that is answered by the guitar (and voice) of Ibrahim Ahmed Guita on Tihoussay Tenere. There is a certain pathos in this track, a regret for leaving the desert for the city, but the gentle beat will have you swaying around the desert, feet caressing the hot sands, eyes agape at the abundance of the stars above.
The language of the words on this disc is Tamasheq, a variant of Tuareg, the language of the nomadic tribes across North Africa, particularly Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. And in what is a strongly matriarchal society, the mother is praised in Anna, a suitably sensitive track that soothes and warms as ‘the love of all mothers’, while the love for a beautiful woman is recounted in Tabsit. Even in translation, the words are lyrical and show a keen connection with the land, the life, the spaces of the desert and the mountains:
My greetings to Tabsit, as beautiful as a small gazelle crossing the desert at dusk, when my thoughts accompany the twilight. She dresses gracefully, she was born in the oasis and grew up in the savannah, she lives in the tents of yesteryear, she causes me a void in the soul and nostalgia. My greetings and all my esteem. Surrounded by the timewen* and tihegren*, flower beds and water of the oasis, Tabsit prepares tea when the first star announces the night.
The various Desert Blues bands have, we should not be surprised to learn, links and connections with each other. Dag Tenere guitarist Goumar Abdoul Jamil used to be a member of another Desert Blues group, Etran Finatawa and Koud Edhaz Emin – even if I seem to be smiling, my heart is chapped and cracked – is a cover of a Tinariwen track, from their 2014 album Emmaar.
Iswat, the final track, is a traditional tune arranged by Zaina Aboubacar with a definite beat provided by what I presumed to be a calabash, but in fact, it is a tendé, a traditional percussion instrument made from a domestic mortar and a stretched goat skin covering. The pulses thrum throughout; the verses are backed by a drone-like male chorus and intersected with exciting, almost celebratory ululations. You just get into it, and then it stops.
Twenty years on, and the sound of assouf is still very attractive – raw guitars, steady rhythms resulting in an inability to sit still. At the same time, there feels like there is a little more sophistication in this production, inevitable no doubt, and more layers of sound in some cases, though that may just be a mirage.
If you have not listened to Desert Blues, then this is a great starting point. If you have already got the Desert Blues, then add this to your collection. Short but Excellent – play it again.
Order via Bandcamp: https://dagtenere.bandcamp.com/album/iswat
* desert tree varieties