Bombino announces new album
Nigerien guitar virtuoso Bombino has announced his third studio album, Azel, will be released on Friday 1st April. He has also shared two tracks from the record, Akhar Zaman and Timtar.
Applehead, a converted barn on farmland where goats, pigs, and other animals roam freely, was base of operations for the band. The group stayed in a guest house on the property, and took turns making meals. Apart from a morning invasion by a 700-pound pig, Applehead was the perfect atmosphere for Bombino and his group to create new music over the course of 10 days. Longstreth proved to be a fantastic match for Bombino as this album's producer. He has a deep respect for the Saharan music tradition and guided their sessions with a gentle but skilled hand.
Longstreth said of the recording sessions, "I finally met Bombino last fall, walking into the sprawling barn studio in upstate New York where we'd record Bombino's third studio album, Azel. There he was, relaxing on the couch, conversing in Tamasheq with his bandmates behind a barely perceptible smile. He was wearing a blue bubu, the traditional Tuareg formal attire, and bobbing his head along to the playback from studio's stately Genelecs. Though he speaks Tamasheq, Arabic and French, he rarely speaks at all. Instead, he plays the guitar.
And play, by Jove, he does. Bombino rarely does more than one or two takes, because he doesn't need to. I've seen him lay down a six-minute acoustic improvisation, and then double-track it instantly and flawlessly, with no punches. His playing is effortless, endless. His playing is technical - virtuoso is the right word - but the technique isn't what you notice about it: what you notice is the feeling, and the tone. It feels punk that way."
Fans of Bombino and Tuareg music in general will notice a few remarkable innovations on this album. The first is the introduction of a new style Bombino is pioneering that he affectionately calls 'Tuareggae' - a sunny blend of Tuareg blues/rock with reggae one-drop and bounce. Another is the first-ever use of Western vocal harmonies in recorded Tuareg music (due to Longstreth's influence), which give the songs new depth and colour. Finally, the band behind him is tighter and more energetic than ever before. The result is Bombino's best, most well-rounded, and groundbreaking album to date: Azel.
The word Azel has three meanings in Bombino's native Tamasheq language - first, it is the name of a small desert town just a few kilometres from where he grew up, in Agadez, Niger. His wife's family is from Azel, and it is the site of the first and only Tuareg school in the country. Bombino has long held aspirations of developing a Tuareg community centre and arts school in Agadez, so the town of Azel holds a special place in his heart. Second, the word azel means the roots or stems of a tree. This album is a reflection of Bombino's unique place in Tuareg music where he at once honours the traditional roots of the music while also taking it into brand new territory, hence the roots and the stems. Finally, the word azel is also slang in Tamasheq, loosely the equivalent of 'That's my jam!' in American English. The significance of that meaning should be instantly obvious to anyone who listens to this album.
Azel is available for pre-order now at Partisan Records. Various bundles are available.
Applehead, a converted barn on farmland where goats, pigs, and other animals roam freely, was base of operations for the band. The group stayed in a guest house on the property, and took turns making meals. Apart from a morning invasion by a 700-pound pig, Applehead was the perfect atmosphere for Bombino and his group to create new music over the course of 10 days. Longstreth proved to be a fantastic match for Bombino as this album's producer. He has a deep respect for the Saharan music tradition and guided their sessions with a gentle but skilled hand.
Longstreth said of the recording sessions, "I finally met Bombino last fall, walking into the sprawling barn studio in upstate New York where we'd record Bombino's third studio album, Azel. There he was, relaxing on the couch, conversing in Tamasheq with his bandmates behind a barely perceptible smile. He was wearing a blue bubu, the traditional Tuareg formal attire, and bobbing his head along to the playback from studio's stately Genelecs. Though he speaks Tamasheq, Arabic and French, he rarely speaks at all. Instead, he plays the guitar.
And play, by Jove, he does. Bombino rarely does more than one or two takes, because he doesn't need to. I've seen him lay down a six-minute acoustic improvisation, and then double-track it instantly and flawlessly, with no punches. His playing is effortless, endless. His playing is technical - virtuoso is the right word - but the technique isn't what you notice about it: what you notice is the feeling, and the tone. It feels punk that way."
Fans of Bombino and Tuareg music in general will notice a few remarkable innovations on this album. The first is the introduction of a new style Bombino is pioneering that he affectionately calls 'Tuareggae' - a sunny blend of Tuareg blues/rock with reggae one-drop and bounce. Another is the first-ever use of Western vocal harmonies in recorded Tuareg music (due to Longstreth's influence), which give the songs new depth and colour. Finally, the band behind him is tighter and more energetic than ever before. The result is Bombino's best, most well-rounded, and groundbreaking album to date: Azel.
The word Azel has three meanings in Bombino's native Tamasheq language - first, it is the name of a small desert town just a few kilometres from where he grew up, in Agadez, Niger. His wife's family is from Azel, and it is the site of the first and only Tuareg school in the country. Bombino has long held aspirations of developing a Tuareg community centre and arts school in Agadez, so the town of Azel holds a special place in his heart. Second, the word azel means the roots or stems of a tree. This album is a reflection of Bombino's unique place in Tuareg music where he at once honours the traditional roots of the music while also taking it into brand new territory, hence the roots and the stems. Finally, the word azel is also slang in Tamasheq, loosely the equivalent of 'That's my jam!' in American English. The significance of that meaning should be instantly obvious to anyone who listens to this album.
Azel is available for pre-order now at Partisan Records. Various bundles are available.
