Bombino

For his fourth album, Tuareg blues virtuoso Omara Moctar celebrates his homeland and shares its pains.

For his magnificent previous album, “Azel“, the already-legendary Tuareg guitarist Omara Moctar known as Bombino invited Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors as the producer, and he organized the recording session in Woodstock’s Applehead Studio.

His fourth release, “Deran”, is a comeback to his homeland – both real and in Omar’s memories. Recorded mostly in Casablanca, it’s telling this might be his most laid-back and vivid album, with even more blues element than previously, but also more of Tuareg sound and feel.

Among the celebrations of bonds and Tuareg traditions, however, there’s also some pain of how conflicted the Sahel region has become. The title of the album was taken from the phrase “Deran deran alkeir”, which means “Best wishes, best wishes for peace”.

This is also the title of the fantastic new video from the album, which is “a traditional Tuareg song sung to the bride and groom on the day of their marriage”.

Stream “Deran” LP on Spotify.

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