Tidawt – “Agamgam ” – [Nomad Foundation]

ArtCrimes   6/5/2007   CD, International

Tidawt are Tuareg musicians from Niger. This is not traditional music, but original songs that are informed by the nomadic lifestyle of the Tuareg, where family and traditional customs keep them going, despite political disruptions to their way of life. Although Tidawt exists as a larger group in their homeland, the recording here is by the touring group of three members, singing and playing acoustic guitars and some percussion???the trot of the camel serves as the rhythmic influence for many of these songs. Entirely sung in a Tuareg dialect, with guitar work at times suggests a Malian style, but often the chordal sequences are just as much western as they are African.