Oumara Moctar, otherwise known as Bombino, freely crafts an infectious sound of desert blues all of his own.
His new album Deran is yet another project that finds the guitarist bending and twisting his fingers across ten tracks. The opening song ‘Imajghane’ reintroduces the listener into Bombino’s world. There’s a recognizable reggae fusion beat to the song that’s carried by a jumpy bass line and, of course, Bombino’s conversational guitar playing. Bombino is a wizard at having his guitar sing beside him. That’s true on tracks like ‘Tenesse’ and ‘Takamba’.
Bombino sings in Tamasheq, the language of the Tuareg people that is spoken across the Sahara. The language is poetic and nimble, with gentle cadences.
Several moments on Duran dance like preserved proverbs or hymns put to record. Take ‘Adounia Idagh’, with its handclaps and hand drums sung by Bombino and accompanying singers. These more lucid moments trade Bombino’s Western tendencies for loving African embraces. The song ‘Midiwan’ punctuates this point. Overall, this project is another beautiful import of African blues picked near-perfectly by this sultan of shred.
8/10
