Part of the allure of music is its ability to occasionally whisk you away to someplace new or unfamiliar via sound alone.
Bombino is capable of doing just that. In 2011's
Agadez, Niger-based guitarist/singer Omara Moctar concocts a blend of traditional Tuareg music and American blues/folk/rock flourishes, and sings in his native language of Tamashek, dropping you straight into the Sahara. World music favorites Tinariwen are also part of the Tuareg people, a nomadic group dispersed across the Sahara; Moctar cites that group among his most important musical influences alongside Western names like Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and Dire Straits. On last year's
Nomad, which was produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Bombino's work hypnotizes with its bluesy beauty. In person, expect Moctar and company to make you feel the weight of those grooves and compel you to move.
— Reyan Ali
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