TINARIWEN | INTERVIEW
With their world tour passing through Cardiff in July, Charlie Piercey talks to Tinariwen about their musical background.
Your style of music has frequently been referred to as ‘desert blues’, what effect would you say the desert has on your music?
The desert is our biggest inspiration. Tinariwen means the people of the desert in [Tuareg language] Tamasheq. It is part of our daily life: even when we are far from home it’s part of us. Our style comes directly from the desert and from our ancestral Tuareg culture. It is created on electric guitars that have our specific sound, the sounding of guitars plugged on our low battery amps, and the percussions issued from our Tuareg tradition.
Weare mainly inspired by ancestral Tamasheq poetry and traditional music like the Tinde transe for instance, which is mainly based on percussion rhythms inspired by the camel dance.
As far as your influences are concerned, would you say that the majority come from your homeland or are you ever deeply inspired by other cultures as you travel the world?
The majority comes from our homeland. We like listening to other music of course and we enjoy doing so while touring. But the majority of our influences are Tamasheq.
Your music has made quite an impact on a global scale; have you ever found that language barriers affect how your music is received?
Music is the best language to overpass the language barriers, we feel it is universal. We also feel that people get connected naturally to our music, thanks to its authenticity maybe!
Tell us a bit about the writing process for your music. It feels and sounds very free, is there a large emphasis on improvisation and intuitive musical communication between the band members?
It’s definitely free. One comes with a melody, with a text, and we all jam on it altogether, and everyone adds his own layer. Yes, I would say it is very intuitive and it is a true collective work.
Many of your songs focus on important political issues, particularly the recurring political instability in your home region. How important do you feel it is for music to be used as a vehicle for protest and do you think it is effective?
It’s up to everyone to get interested in the current situation of our homeland or not. Today everyone can know about this through the web, as long they get interested in it. It is essential for us that the message of our community is understood. I don’t know if it is effective through our music, I wish. We also like that people enjoy our music simply. We sing about the suffering of our community but also about love! Our music is about both: our community suffering and also love, nature, poetry…
Finally, I want to thank you all for taking the time to answer these questions and I hope you enjoy your gig in Cardiff!
Thank you! See you there!
Theatr Brychieniog, Brecon, Wed 23 July. Tickets: £24/£22. Info: 01874 611622 / www.brycheiniog.co.uk
St David’s Hall, Cardiff,Thurs 24 July. Tickets: £19.50-£21. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
