It has only been three years since Sublime Frequencies released the inaugural entry in their Guitars From Agadez series, but so much has happened since then that it is a near miracle that Group Inerane even managed another album. The biggest event: second guitarist Adi Mohamed was killed in the uprisings that followed the coup d’état that ousted Niger’s president. Thankfully, frontman Bibi Ahmed narrowly avoided the same fate and recruited Taureg guitar legend Koudede to fill the void. Unsurprisingly, the new Group Inerane are a darker and noticeably different band.
I can't think of any other band that can quite top Group Inerane for sheer outlaw cool.For one, the Tauregs are a historically nomadic culture living in the Sahara desert, a culture that has been sporadically clashing violently with both the Mali and Niger governments for decades.In fact, the whole Taureg Guitar movement originated in rebel camps in the 1980s.Then, of course, there is the fact that famine, unstable government, and corruption plague the entire country.New member Koudede improbably adds still more to the band's near-mythic bad-assitude, as he grew up in a uranium mining town, never went to school, and learned how to play guitar in Libyan and Algerian rebel camps.It is definitely not the ideal milieu for a rock band to set up shop in, especially when band members are getting gunned down in firefights with a military junta, yet Ahmed has nevertheless managed to survive and even thrive in that environment.
Anyone who has heard Sublime Frequencies' other Group Inerane album will probably be a little surprised by the band's change in direction.Guitars From Agadez Volume One sounded like a raucous party, filled with handclaps and exuberant, oft-ululating female backing vocalists.This album is considerably more restrained and hypnotic, sounding less like an out-of-control African wedding reception than a blues-damaged Neu!As it turns out, an Africanized Neu! is extremely cool.On the new-style tracks, such as "Ikabkaban," the rhythm section of Abdulai Sidi Mohamed and Mohamed Atchinguel lock into a simple, mesmerizing groove, providing a propulsive foundation for the guitars' bluesy ringing arpeggios.The whole effect is very trancelike, as everything thumps and throbs along insistently, but the deft improvisations of Bibi and Koudede manage to still make it feel like an unpredictable and vibrant affair.
The group hasn't totally abandoned their past though, as most of the elements present on their first album are still present to some degree–they just seem much more toned down.Probably some of that is due to this album's dodgier sound quality, but Group Inerane are definitely more laid back.The biggest difference is that the group feels much smaller now, though it is hard to tell if that is true since the album only credits the four core members.Even if it isn't true, there is no conspicuous evidence of exotic instrumentation and traditional percussion now.Also, the band's female backing singers seem very diminished in both number and presence.Group Inerane have also largely stopped using distortion, an odd choice considering their newly "rock" line-up and instrumentation.I am not a big fan of exotic rock appropriations in general (and I don’t particularly care for the more standard-issue rock of "Tamidit In Aicha"), but the rest of the album's quasi-motorik direction is quite satisfying and unique.Of course, I enjoyed their previous sound too, but the only thing I truly miss is the rampant ululation.
Unfortunately, I am a bit conflicted on the sound quality of this release, even though I am well-accustomed to the expected Sublime Frequencies rawness.These nine songs appear to have been recorded live by Hisham Mayet in Niamey, Niger earlier this year and the quality is only slightly better than what might've been achieved with a boombox.This definitely sounds more like a field recording than a concert recording.That said, it is certainly admirable to present Group Inerane in as raw and unhomogenized a way as possible, but this album does not sound like a total in-the-red rock frenzy–it sounds like a barely adequate live recording with somewhat buried vocals.Given the difficult circumstances in Agadez, that may have been the best that Mayet could get.In fact, Hisham was probably lucky to get anything at all.That does not make it any less frustrating though.The music is certainly inspired and impressive, but Guitars From Agadez Volume 3 is mere documentation that something awesome is happening ("the now sound of the Taureg Guitar revolution!") rather than an awesome album in its own right.
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