Tinariwen

Tinariwen stunned the international scene with this album, which was recorded in just two weeks in Bamako, Mali. Taking traditional Toureg music and plugging it in, the band seemed to change the rules, taking listeners into a metaphorical Sahara with their rolling guitars that wash over you -- seriously -- like water. One of the best albums to come out of Mali, period.

Sahel nomads turned Qadaffi exploitees turned Bamako unemployeds, they worked out their revamped Tuareg folk music in acoustic bands of 30 or so and pared down as they electrified. In the Mali context they are or were warriors and rebels, literally. But at this distance they give off the same sere calm I associate with Ali Farka Toure and Afel Bocoum, only trancier--in the desert, folks really know how to trance. At this distance, they're touched by New Age tourism. But they're no less hypnotic for that. (Grade - B+)