{"title":"Sahel Sounds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSahel Sounds is a music label that specializes in field and studio recordings of traditional and modern popular music from West Africa. Founded by Christopher Kirkley, the label's main focus is on showcasing the rich musical heritage of the Sahel region, which includes Mauritania, Senegal, and Mali.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a passion for preserving and promoting diverse musical traditions, Sahel Sounds brings together a curated collection of captivating sounds from this culturally vibrant part of Africa. From traditional folk melodies to contemporary beats, each release offers a unique glimpse into the musical tapestry of the Sahel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy compiling these authentic recordings, Sahel Sounds provides a platform for talented artists to share their artistry with the world. With an informative and authoritative approach, this e-commerce website allows music enthusiasts to explore and discover new sounds while supporting musicians from the Sahel region.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"100-sahara-guitar-2","title":"100% Sahara Guitar","description":"\u003cp\u003eEtran de L’Aïr the Stars of the Air, the longest running wedding band in Agadez, capital of Tuareg guitar, return with a new album of sun-schlazed desert sound! Their first album, No.1, brought their music to critics and fans. Their second album, Agadez, sent them into the international touring circuit. And now they're back with \u003ci\u003e100% Sahara Guitar,\u003c\/i\u003e ready to take on the world, with those swinging melodies, like a sandstorm blowing in from across the sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEtran de L’Aïr are 100% Sahara, and that goes same for the band, all sons of Agdez, including brothers Moussa, Abdoulaye, and Abdourahamane, and their dear friend, the youngest of the group, Alghabid. All the brothers write and play guitar, swapping out instruments while Alghabid keeps the Four on the Floor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003e100% Sahara Guitar\u003c\/i\u003e, Etran de L’Aïr are back to claim the throne, with their first studio album! And what a sound it is. Recorded in sunny studios on the West Coast, the brothers take that old Agadez sound to new levels, adding even more guitars into the mix, weaving layers of reverb-laden melodies and shimmering harmonies into a tapestry of sound. How much guitar can they fit into one record? The answer is 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50380218761547,"sku":"2211504","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Blue LP","offer_id":50380218925387,"sku":"2211505","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f846b842-9bbd-49f2-073d-d1cb71a437c1-1_71b2cb96_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726211111"},{"product_id":"abba-gargando","title":"Abba Gargando","description":"\u003cp\u003eLo-fi Tuareg guitar from renowned Timbouctou musician Abba Gargando. From fireside guitar with drum machines, field recordings with hypnotic electrified weddings, and impromptu collaborations with friends, from original compositions to folkloric interpretations. Recorded in refugee camps during the Malian conflict of 2012, produced on cellphones and distributed via WhatsApp across the Tuareg diaspora, Abba Gargando's debut recording is a glimpse into the self-recordings and DIY culture in the Sahel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50402110013771,"sku":"2178158","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Abba_Gargando_-_Abba_Gargando_9c1456ad_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726532469"},{"product_id":"tidiane-thiam","title":"Africa Yontii","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"It's time. Africa, it's time. It's time that Africa changes. It's time our leaders change. Everything that happens in Africa is extraordinary. We have everything: water, earth, sun, fields of oil, gas. We have all this in Africa, but Africa is still poor. It's time we change our way of thinking. It's time for Africans to take their destiny into their own hands. If not, others will take it.\" This is the message instrumental guitarist Tidiane Thiam hopes to convey with his new solo album, Africa Yontii, a Pulaar title that translates to \"Africa Time.\" To a casual listener, Thiam's bold statement starkly contrasts with his melodic playing. But a closer listen to Thiam's expressive playing reveals a thoughtful voice that stands out from the crop of contemporary guitarists. \"What I should be singing (with words) I'm instead saying with my guitar,\" he says. Hailing from the sleepy fishing Senegalese fishing town of Podor, home of the great Baaba Maal, Thiam taught himself guitar by playing along to late-night radio broadcasts of Manding music. He soon developed his style, often reworking Pulaar folk themes into his compositions. On Africa Yontii, Thiam's third album for Sahel Sounds, he teamed up with hip-hop beat maker Ndiaye Moctar from studio M.N. Records to provide accompaniment, integrating unexpected elements such as field recordings and electronic sounds. In the liner notes for Africa Yontii, Thiam voices his concerns about the lack of opportunities for Africa's youth and the lonely road that can come with leaving behind loved ones in the hope of a better life. He also sprinkles in a philosophical query about the eroding state of the world alongside two more hopeful, traditional offerings in the form of wedding and river songs. Despite the sometimes heavy subject matter, Thiam's love for his homeland and heritage shines through. Tidiane Thiam's Africa Yontii reclaims the maligned \"world music\" genre within a sonic space that has long been dominated by others telling the story. As the title suggests - It's time! Tight in terms of skill, loose in terms of texture, with roots in centuries-old string-playing techniques.\" - Pop Matters \/\/ \"Self-taught, Thiam is doing more than following in the wide tracks laid down by Sahel guitarists of the present and past, forging his own way\" -\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50417109958987,"sku":"2194179","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Tidiane_Thiam_-_Africa_Yontii_3cbe4091_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726717011"},{"product_id":"dimanche-a-bamako-3","title":"Dimanche a Bamako","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst heard by global audiences on Sahel Sounds’ Music from Saharan WhatsApp series, Malian guitar hero Bounaly (the stage name of Ali \"Bounaly\" Traore) makes his full-length debut with \u003ci\u003eDimanche à Bamako\u003c\/i\u003e (“Sunday in Bamako”). Recorded live on location, the music on \"Dimanche à Bamako\" is a mix of regional favorites, traditional standards, and originals. Long songs with looping rhythms, pounding kick, and electric shredding guitar, punctuated by shout outs to the guests of honor. A raw and frenetic take on Northern Mali desert sound, playing for the diaspora at a Bamako wedding.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50417497899339,"sku":"2143708","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Dimanche__C3_A0_Bamako_2d315a1c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726731292"},{"product_id":"agadez","title":"Agadez","description":"\u003cp\u003eEtran de L’Aïr (or “stars of the Aïr region”) welcomes you to Agadez, the capital city of Saharan rock. Playing for over 25 years, Etran has emerged as stars of the local wedding circuit. Beloved for their dynamic repertoire of hypnotic solos and sun schlazed melodies, Etran stakes out a place for Agadez guitar music. Playing a sound that invokes the desert metropolis, Agadez celebrates the sounds of all the dynamism of a hometown wedding. Etran is a family band composed of brothers and cousins, all born and raised in the small neighborhood of Abalane, just in the shadow of the grand mosque. Sons of nomadic families that settled here in the 1970s fleeing the droughts, they all grew up in Agadez. The band was formed in 1995 when current band leader Moussa “Abindi” Ibra was only 9 years old. “We only had one acoustic guitar,” he explains, “and for percussion, we hit a calabash with a sandal.\" Over the decades, the band painstakingly pieced together gear to form their band and built an audience by playing everywhere, for everyone. “It was difficult. We would walk to gigs by foot, lugging all our equipment, carrying a small PA and guitars on our backs, 25 kilometers into the bush, to play for free…there’s nowhere in Agadez we haven’t played.” Whereas other Tuareg guitarists look to Western rock, Etran de L’Aïr play in a pan-African style that is emblematic of their hometown, citing a myriad of cultural influences, from Northern Malian blues, Hausa bar bands, to Congolese Soukous. It’s perhaps this quality that makes them so beloved in Agadez. “We play for the Tuareg, the Toubou, the Zarma, the Hausa,” Abindi explains. “When you invite us, we come and play.” Their music is rooted in celebration, and invokes the exuberance of an Agadez wedding, with an overwhelming abundance of guitars, as simultaneous solos playfully pass over one another with a restrained precision, forceful yet never overindulgent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50446377091403,"sku":"1142480","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50446376436043,"sku":"1142481","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/65a6c6ef-f8c2-47a1-a941-2d61ce2c949e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727058746"},{"product_id":"at-pioneer-works","title":"At Pioneer Works","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAt Pioneer Works\u003c\/i\u003e is the highly anticipated new album by Tuareg Avant-rock group Les Filles de Illighadad. Recorded in Brooklyn at the tail end of a two-year-long world tour, \u003ci\u003eAt Pioneer Works\u003c\/i\u003e finds Les Filles at the height of their powers, creating a sound that transcends all known genres. This is a heavy and meditative set of music from one of the world’s most exciting bands. The first new album from Les Filles de Illighadad in four years, with the band’s catalog sales increasing year after year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLes Filles de Illighadad (“daughters of Illighadad”) was founded in Illighadad, Niger in 2016 by solo guitarist Fatou Seidi Ghali and renowned vocalist Alamnou Akrouni. In 2017, they were joined by Amaria Hamadalher, a fixture on the Agadez guitar scene, and Abdoulaye Madassane, rhythm guitarist and a son of Illighadad. Les Filles de Illighadad’s music draws from two distinct styles of regional sound, ancient village choral chants and desert guitar. The result is a groundbreaking new direction for Tuareg folk music and a sound that resonates far outside of their village. In the past years, the band has toured nonstop, bringing their highly specific sound to distant corners of the globe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50466047230283,"sku":"1117776","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Clear | LP","offer_id":50466047394123,"sku":"1117784","price":20.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50466047099211,"sku":"1117775","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ae42b821-221d-41fc-b562-c16f6e1883b2_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727302743"},{"product_id":"patriote","title":"Patriote","description":"\u003cp\u003eTraditional village music transformed into fiery and frenetic underground Hip Hop. Emerging from the digital cultural renaissance of the early 2000s, where DIY studios sprung up throughout West Africa, \u003ci\u003ePatriote\u003c\/i\u003e is a shining example of localized global music. Hypnotic and driving rhythms built from sampled percussion and chopped-up instruments combine with syncopated staccato “ragga” inspired flow into infectious hammering tracks that sound like nothing before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach track relies heavily on traditional instruments, and each rhythm is based on a dance from Niger. Their mission extends to the urgency of their lyrics: Takai challenges the population to preserve their culture, Kagani Kagani is a demand to take back mineral, oil, and uranium rights from their colonizers, while Komando uses war cries to inspire artists to keep speaking out. A strong entry in 21st-century global music, Mamaki Boys\u003ci\u003e Patriote\u003c\/i\u003e takes back the tools of globalization, repurposing them in the fight for cultural identity. Originally self-released in 2009 on limited edition CDR in Niger.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50466267955531,"sku":"1121787","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d325a2a2-4ec2-418f-9094-0debca3c3b6a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727309465"},{"product_id":"ilana-the-creator","title":"Ilana - The Creator","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn in a nomad camp in Niger and now a leading figure of desert rock, Mdou Moctar stands out as the most innovative artist in contemporary Saharan music. His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar have pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene. In contrast to polished “world music” fare, Mdou trades in unrelenting grit and has no qualms about going full shred. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA long time coming, \u003ci\u003eIlana \u003c\/i\u003eis Mdou's first true studio album. Recorded in Detroit at the tail end of a US tour by engineer Chris Koltay (who met after bonding over ZZ Top's \u003ci\u003eTres Hombres\u003c\/i\u003e), Mdou lived in studio for a week, playing into the early hours and accompanied by an all-star band: Ahmoudou Madassane's (Les Filles de Illighadad) lighting fast rhythm guitar, Aboubacar Mazawadje's machine gun drums, and Michael Coltun's structured low-end bass.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe result is Mdou's most ambitious record to date, taking tradition into into an ever louder and blistering direction. From the rock anthem \u003ci\u003eTarhatazed\u003c\/i\u003e, to the Van Halen tapping of \u003ci\u003eKamane Tarhanin, Ilana\u003c\/i\u003e stands amongst the greats of classic rock, albeit accidentally. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50478833631563,"sku":"1054917","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/bf0ed974-de19-461e-9d8a-eef80b2215df_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727492202"},{"product_id":"hali-diallo","title":"Hali Diallo","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare recording of contemporary takamba music. Tallawit Timbouctou are champions of takamba, a hypnotic traditional music from Northern Mali. Built around the tehardent, the four stringed lute and pre-cursor to the American banjo, takamba’s droning distortion comes from signature handmade mics and blown out amplifiers. Accompanied by percussion pounded out onto an overturned calabash with mind boggling time signatures, the combined effect is trance inducing. This is the music that long ruled the North of Mali, performed at festivities, blasting out of dusty boomboxes, and beaming out from village radio stations. Its origin is shrouded in mystery, and though purportedly dating back to the Songhai Empire of the 15th century, takamba’s heyday was inthe 1980s, with the introduction of amplification. Musicians found a lucrative circuit, performing in elegant weddings, creating cassettes on demand, and writing songs for their wealthy patrons. Today takamba has fallen out of popular fashion with the youth, but continues to thrive in a small network of die-hard traditionalists. Band leader Aghaly Ag Amoumine is one of the remaining renowned takamba musicians. Descended from a long line of praise singers, he spent decades traveling across the Sahel, performing in remote nomad camps and crowded West African capitals. His compositions continue to circulate today and have become part of the folk repertoire. His group Tallawit Timbouctou, based in the city of the same name, continues in the family tradition, and has featured both his brother and nephew as accompanying members. Recorded at home in Timbouctou, \u003ci\u003eHali Diallo\u003c\/i\u003e is a relentless and non-stop recording, true to the form of takamba. Tracks blend seamlessly into one another, instruments are tuned mid-song, and Aghaly only pauses singing long enough for the occasional shout-out or dedication. Unfiltered and direct as it’s meant to be heard, Tallawit Timbouctou is a shining example of one of the last great takamba bands. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50497952481611,"sku":"1048969","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50497953005899,"sku":"1048970","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f3844d03-68d6-4ba3-8187-af261e5497cf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727735520"},{"product_id":"zerzura-original-soundtrack-recording","title":"Zerzura (Original Soundtrack Recording)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst ever experimental Tuareg guitar soundtrack. Original soundtrack recording to the film Zerzura, the first ever Saharan acid Western, telling the story of a nomad’s search for a magic city of gold. Evoking the desert journey with free form guitar improvisations, the soundtrack is a meditation on the mysteries of the Sahara. Composed by writer and actor Ahmoudou Madassane, the instrumental score takes the familiar Tuareg guitar tradition into new directions, transforming desert blues into ambient soundscapes. Recorded in studio while watching footage from the film, the score was recorded in live and spontaneous takes. Heavily based around the electric guitar, Madassane also plays a handful of other in-studio instrumentation (prepared piano, Moog, Timpani) and is joined by a number of collaborators, including guitarist Marisa Anderson. A prolific and backing artist in a number of groups (Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de Illighadad), Madassane is well versed in Tuareg guitar folk and draws inspiration from this tradition before veering off into uncharted territory. Pieces fluctuate in timing and break free from standard rhythm, moving from melancholic serenity to blurry psychedelic fury. An experimental foray for Tuareg guitar, Zerzura is the first of its kind.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50497954316619,"sku":"1048964","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/29cc0aa8-37e6-4ec4-aa3c-e2ef3cc9aee2_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727735545"},{"product_id":"houmeissa","title":"Houmeissa","description":"\u003cp\u003eNigerian composer Hama presents a groundbreaking album of traditional electronic desert folk songs, hovering somewhere between early 90s techno and synthwave. Nomadic herding ballads, ancient caravan songs, and ceremonial wedding chants are all re-imagined into pieces seemingly lifted from a Saharan 1980s sci-fi soundtrack or score to a Tuareg video game. With a deep love and respect, Hama effortlessly takes back and re-appropriates fourth-world ethnoambient music. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50498296676683,"sku":"1052764","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fffd1d5a-aa10-444f-b0b5-966e2d45f7b6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727744056"},{"product_id":"tiris","title":"Tiris","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn amazing and rare studio recording of 1990s Polisario music! The album is a standout example of the Sahrawi political folk style that mixes traditional modes with Western scales and instrumentation. response vocals, The repertoire of El Wali is fiery and inspirational, a call to arms - with national anthems, celebrations of political anniversaries, and religious pleas for peace, with call and response duets, backed with a synthesizer, programmed drums, and electric guitar. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNomadic inhabitants of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi movement for liberation began in the 1970s and has continued until today. Sahrawi political folk music dates back to the origins and has played an integral role in the struggle, with political anthems creating a national identity. One of the first Saharan music to incorporate the electric guitar, the style was hugely influential on the better know Tuareg guitar genre. The later addition of synthesizer and programmed rhythms further transformed the sound, becoming a foundation of Sahrawi music. Recorded in Belgium in 1994 while on tour, this version of El Wali performed a style reflecting the popular music of the refugee camps. \u003ci\u003eTiris\u003c\/i\u003e is a refreshing production with none of the typical World Music polish of the 90s. This evidently led to its unsuccessful release in the West. Originally released only in as a small run CD for Oxfam Belgium, the CD quickly disappeared and is impossible to find. In West Africa, however, it became a viral success and the defining representative Sahrawi music. In 2012 a track was released on Music from \u003ci\u003eSaharan Cellphones Vol 2\u003c\/i\u003e and only after an arduous search over 8 years (leading through Spain to the Canary Islands to Tindouf and eventually to Belgium) the artists, the studio, and the original recordings were tracked down. A co-release with Badawi Archives, the first Sahrawi run record label led by dj \/producer Bedouin Sahrawi.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50498595520843,"sku":"1076205","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7e1cc05d-5c35-4b8c-951a-53a951882a7d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727750428"},{"product_id":"music-from-saharan-whatsapp","title":"Music from Saharan WhatsApp","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2020, Sahel Sounds hosted a project called \u003ci\u003eMusic from Saharan WhatsApp\u003c\/i\u003e. This series consisted of ephemeral digital EPs, documenting live performances by some of the most exciting acts in the Sahel playing music, including Nigerién techno, wedding rock, Woodabe guitar, WZN, traditional music, Mandingue music, and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eResponding to an open call from our network of artists, musicians recorded a handful of tracks on their cellphone and sent them over the popular mobile app WhatsApp. Each session was hosted for a month on Bandcamp and sold on a sliding scale, with all profits wired directly to the musicians. After a month, the EP would disappear, replaced by another one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, some of the label's favorite tracks from this series are collected for the first time outside of Bandcamp as the Music from Saharan WhatsApp compilation LP. This LP features tracks by established Sahel Sounds artists such as Etran de L'Aïr, Hama, Alkibar Jr, Amaria Hamadaler (of Les Filles de Illighadad), and artists new to the label like Bounaly and Andal Sukabe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTracklisting:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e01. Etran de L'Air - Tarha Ebouse Dighe Mane\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e02. Oumou Diabate and Kara Show - Wara\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e03. Jeich Ould Badu - Elyn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e04. Alkibar Jr - Adouna\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e05. Amaria Hamadalher - Tarhanine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e06. Luka Productions and Kandiafa - Ne Be Massa Wofo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e07. Andal Sukabe - Hey Malale\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e08. 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Hypnotic percussion loops across sweeping pads, call and response chants echoes layer over electronic beats, and children’s voices sing out to recordings of crashing waves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2018, Swedish music archeologist and leftfield musician Karl Jonas Winqvist traveled to Toubab Dialaw, Senegal, a small fishing village turned hub of Senegal’s bohemian art scene. Over the next weeks, local musicians, percussionists, poets, and beat makers came together, sketching out ideas and recording free improvisation. Winqvist returned to Sweden, trading recordings back and forth over WhatsApp with Senegal based collaborator and studio engineer Arouna Kane.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eYaral Sa Doom\u003c\/i\u003e is a Wolof phrase that means “educate the young.” Central to the album is this theme of education, with songs that directly address social issues facing contemporary Senegal, education, and immigration. \"Today you must educate children with an instrument and art, when you teach them an instrument you teach them to use their spirit,\" says Djiby Ly. With over 20 contributing performers from Senegal and Sweden, Wau Wau Collectif’s debut is layered and complex, yet maintains a central vision. “It’s like diving into the sea,” explains Kane. “There are all different species of fish swimming around, but together they make the ocean.” Nonetheless, it's also a geographic anomaly, made possible only by exchange of the internet age. 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Recorded at her home, with powerful yet restrained vocals that drift over melancholy acoustic guitar, Namian explores epic generational songs and poetry, brought into the Tik Tok age.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50506733584715,"sku":"2021541","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Namian_Sidib_-_Namian_Sidib_05e9bdbf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727828762"},{"product_id":"mariage","title":"Mariage","description":"\u003cp\u003eWau Wau Collectif’s second album, \u003ci\u003eMariage\u003c\/i\u003e, is instilled with a newfound sense of purpose. Expanding upon the inspirational themes of their acclaimed 2021 debut, Yaral Sa Doom (Educate The Young), this long distance collaboration from musicians in Senegal and Sweden’s Karl Jonas Winqvist is an even more stylistically expansive affair. Joyful children’s songs collide with fuzzy guitar solos and thumping hip-hop beats. Shimmering synths lift off from the plunky percussion of the balafon and versatile sounds of the 22-string kora. Familiar voices from the first album return with more explicitly political lyrics, while the music feels both rhythmically dense and sonically weightless, flowing from one spellbinding moment to the 6 next. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor \u003ci\u003eMariage\u003c\/i\u003e, band members from each country were inspired to include a wider array of instrumental flourishes unique to their cross-continental collaboration. “Yay Balma” revolves around the cycling riffs of Jango Diabaté’s xalam guitar, as this song’s fuzzy tones and soaring sax solos open side two with a bang. “Pitchi Goubidi” provides a stark contrast, with the kora played like a harp and Gilbert Badji’s gravelly lyrics about “the bird of the night” disappearing into dubbed-out chamber pop. Winqvist’s Omnichord hovers back into focus on “Yonou Natangue,” a free-floating jam that maintains the messages of Wau Wau Collectif’s debut, promoting youth education to address the social issues facing contemporary Senegal: “Peace is the better wealth \/ The way to wander.” \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sahel Sounds","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":51123948716363,"sku":"1169830","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/05ec8934-8bbd-4712-8086-93c1fe56b399_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1737239098"},{"product_id":"amanar-de-kidal-kel-tamasheq","title":"Amanar de Kidal - Kel Tamasheq","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStudio album from Bamako-based Tuareg band Amanar de Kidal. \"Kel Tamacheq\" is years in the making, a self produced DIY album, recorded in the small studios of the Malian capital over the past few years. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCarrying on in the tradition of assouf, the Northern Malian style of Tuareg guitar popularized by artists like Tinariwen, Amanar pushes the sound forward into tight upbeat groove and kinetic rhythms, reflecting the rich diversity of Mali and the energy of the capital. The band takes its name from their hometown Kidal, a remote outpost deep in the Saharan mountains of the far North. Led by singer\/songwriter Ahmed Ag Kaedy, the band Amanar has spent the past 15 years dispersed, with Kaedy making his home in Bamako. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe title, meaning \"Tuareg People\" in Tamasheq, carries with it a message: a call for unity among the scattered community. Recorded with musicians from across Mali's many ethnic communities, \"Kel Tamasheq\" is not just a personal vision, but a sketch for a country at peace. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Among the Tuareg, some are with Mali, some are with the rebels, some are with the Jihadists\", Kaedy says. \"The spirit of the album is to say: our misfortune is the source of our division. It's an album driven by Tuareg identity. 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