Tuareg guitarist Bombino is back with his third and possibly best album, “Azel”, produced by Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth.
For the recording session of this new material Bombino (real name Omara Moctar) moved with his band from Northern Niger to Woodstock’s Applehead Studio, and he described working with Longstreth as “beautiful time”.
Beautiful is the right word to shortly describe this new album too. Regardless of where and with whom he works, Bombino remains devoted to celebrate his roots both musically and lyrically, singing in Tamashek about problems of Tuareg people.
In the lauded single off the album, “Akhar Zaman” (This Moment), Bombino warns that “the morality, dignity, generosity of ours parents have been replaced by materialism”. But the music itself seems to carry cautious optimism Bombino has been known for since he first appeared on stage.
Just like on the entire record, he brings his famous guitar themes even more to the front than previously. So even though “Azel” bring some experiments (including reggae touch in at some point), Bombino still celebrates what his part of the world has been keeping us enchanted with in the recent decades.
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