![Fatou Seidi Ghali]()
Two very different sides of Tuareg music – dreamy ishumar acoustic guitar sessions, and the hypnotic polyphonic tende that inspires it. Guitarist Fatou Seidi Ghali and vocalist Alamnou Akrouni lead the troupe, named after the village. Recorded in the open air studio of the desert.
Les Filles de Illighadad differs from the multitude of guitar bands and tende troupes in their curious bridging of these worlds. The tende (previously) is a water drum, formed out mortar and pestle, stretched across with animal skin.
Fatou Seidi Ghali, one of only two female guitarists in Niger in a overtly male dominated genre, leads the troupe with songs adopted from the tende repertoire – making them one of the few groups to pursue this path.
86 MB 320 ** FLAC
Her music is a gentle, almost sensual take on the Tuareg blues, these delicate webs of repetitive groove that couldn’t come from anywhere else. Yet the key is her incredible vocals, soft, almost expressionless, moving up and down in pitch with guitar. This is subtle, yet deeply personal music. The whole experience, the crickets in the background, the occasional movement of the mic and short comments, chattering and conversations between songs feels intimate, like we’re actually participants ourselves. It’s recorded outside as a continuous session, it’s a little raw, but you can understand why Sahel Sounds have released this – it has power.
The second side by contrast is much more upbeat, more percussive, more joyous and inclusive, with multiple singers, handclaps, wails and the tende, which Sahel Sounds describes as a drum “where two woman sit on pestles flanking a mortar, stretched with an animal skin.”
This time Fatou Seidi Ghali is joined by Talamnou Akrouni, both playing the tende, whilst seemingly a large amount of women from the village make up the choir, led by vocalist Alamnou Akrouni.
This is village music, raucous, hypnotic, life affirming. With multiple parts, and an almost call and response, punctuated by shrill exuberant cries, the key to this piece is the vocals which at times even take on a drone like quality. It’s fascinating, because we have no idea what they are saying we’re forced to analyse the timbre, the texture, and organization. One thing is clear however is that this music is about release, an opportunity for these women to get together with their peers, let loose and howl into the night. — cyclicdefrost.com
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