Bombino - Agadez

[Stephen]

First studio album from Bombino, band leader of recent FAIR club nominee Group Bombino. When two of his band mates were executed as symbols of the Tuareg rebellion Bombino went into exile in Burkina Fasa. Filmmaker Ron Wyman tracked him down for his documentary on the Tuareg rebellion (also called Agadez) and brought him to Massachusetts where he recorded parts of the album.

Sounding like a mix of John Lee Hooker, Funkadelic and Santana played to syncopated North African rhythms it's a surprisingly joyful album.



I've enjoyed this album immensely and highly recommend it.



For those of you in the US and Canada he is also playing various festivals for anyone interested.

[Lisnaholic]

^ What a wonderful piece of music this is. I listened to it last night, and immediately downloaded the two albums by Bombino that you`ve brought to MB`s attention.

So far, I`ve only listened to the one you`re showing here, Agadez, which is an absolute treat for anyone who enjoys electric guitar. I love the long, slow menacing solos, like the 13-minute live version of Tigrawahi Tikma, though, on first listen through, I was most impressed by Iyat Idounia, in which Bombino, presumably, rocks out as if he were auditioning for the Allman Brothers.

But as you say, stp, it`s not all guitar-hero stuff; there are some great African backing vocals somewhere as well as a light, hypnotic track called Tebsakh Dalet. As I`m sure we all know, that means "A Green Acacia" in er, Tuaregian.

Thanks, stp; it`s when I come across music tips like this that I realize just how much I get out of MB.

[Psy-Fi]

Thanks for posting this thread and giving me a heads-up on his tour dates.
He's played 3 shows near me in the past 12 months, and I missed them all (damn!)
Luckily, according to the tour schedule, he's coming back around again (I will definitely attend this one!)
A friend of mine turned me onto his music last year, via a youtube video. I was blown away by the music and got the album shortly thereafter. It's probably my favorite album of the past year or so. Very enjoyable listening!

[Stephen]

I saw on Facebook that Bombino was heading back to Niger. So did anyone catch him around US/ Canada? I watched a few videos on YouTube and to be honest found the drums a little intrusive in what I saw but considering the quality of the sound in most of the recordings it may have been a different experience seeing him live.

[Stephen]

According to his Facebook Bombino has a new album coming out early next year produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. I'm excited

[Lisnaholic]

Thanks to Janszoon, this thread now offers the chance to vote on two albums by Group Bombino, which perhaps deserve a word of explanation:

To begin at the beginning, Agadez is a city in the Republic of Niger. A few years back the guys of record label Sublime Frequencies went there to make some recordings, from which they issued a series of three cd`s. Their first Guitars From Agadez cd featured a group called Inerane, while their volume two release featured Group Bombino:

Originally Posted by stp

Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2 (2009)



A modern evolution of northern African music traditions.

Keep in mind these are live field recordings so the quality's not great but the energy is pretty kicking.

^ This is the album that recently won a FAIR album club poll.

Two years after that release, Group Bombino recorded a studio album, this time in the USA. It was called, simply but confusingly, Agadez, and that`s the album that stp opened this thread with. That`s also why the Group Bombino discography goes like this :-
2009 : Guitars from Agadez vol. 2
2011 : Agadez

So, those are the albums; any opinions ?

[Stephen]

New album Nomad is out now. Not bad but mix seems strangely muddied at the top end. Will give it a few more listens to adjust my ears.

[Stephen]

Bombino - Nomad (2013)

After my first few listens I must say I was ready to dismiss this album as over-produced b-material from his earlier album Agadez. Having heard it a few more times I can say that it has grown on me but it is not without issues. Having moved over to Nonesuch records with Black Keys' Dan Auerbach I get the sense that Auerbach was a little lost with the material. The addition of session musicians on keyboards and pedal steel is distracting at best, and I found the mix uncomfortably saturated in the upper registers. I kind of imagine Auerbach sitting there smoking a few bongs and telling everyone to sound more deserty. If I had to guess I would say Auerbach was trying to recapture some of the raucousness of the field recordings on Guitars of Agadez released by Sublime Frequencies. I wouldn't say that he failed miserably but I do hope he re-evaluates his approach on any subsequent albums. Overall I would probably give this one a 6/10.


LOL. I was being facetious about the bong smoking but looking at the cheesy psychedelia on this official video one has to wonder.

[s_k]

Absolutely epic. Pity he ****ed up with Nomad.
Will see him live this August, though .

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by s_k

Absolutely epic. Pity he ****ed up with Nomad.
Will see him live this August, though .

Yeah Nomad was a bit of a disappointment. Still hope for a redeeming third album. Well, fourth counting the Sublime release.

Will be interested to hear your impressions post concert .