NEW ALBUMS
IMARHAN
Aboogi CITY SLANG
Tuareg rockers reconnect with the serenity and sadness of their home.
By Sam Richards
Imarhan: finding “a new colour” in their own studio
FETHI SAHRAOUI
8/10
IMARHAN have long been anointed as official heirs to Tinariwen’s desert-rock throne. Frontman Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane (aka Sadam) is the cousin of Tinariwen’s bassist Eyadou Ag Leche and has joined them as a touring member on occasion. The bond between the two bands continues on this album, with Tinariwen’s Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni and Mohammed Ag Itlale (aka Japonais) contributing guest vocals – the latter, poignantly, in his final recording session before his death in February.
While the music Imarhan make draws from the same well, combining blues and rock with Tuareg folksong and its distinct flavour of “assouf” (which broadly translates as longing or solitude), they always set out to distinguish themselves from their forebears by incorporating poppier influences and appealing to a younger generation. Press photos around the time of their 2016 self-titled album showed the quintet dressed in jeans and leather jackets rather than the traditional allichu veils, while the promo clip for the following year’s terrific “Azzaman” found them cruising around the suburbs in fancy shades and pulling donuts in the desert, in a knowing nod to hip-hop culture.