“It’s world music that grabs and doesn’t let go. -The New York Times”
Western listeners have heard the ecstatic drone of the African rock known as desert blues — modal, one-chord songs driven by electric guitars, traditional instruments, hand claps and call-and-response vocals — from bands like Tinariwen and Etran Finatawa. But neither one has a singer like Khaira Arby, a Malian whose voice rings like a cry from the battlements. On “Timbuktu Tarab” (Clermont Music), her singing ricochets against eager backup choruses and lead-guitar lines that can hint at both Hendrix and Ali Farka Touré. Her band, mixing Western and African instruments, clearly knows its rock and reggae but keeps its African perspective, while a sinewy production flaunts every contrapuntal cascade. It’s world ... Go to event
Western listeners have heard the ecstatic drone of the African rock known as desert blues — modal, one-chord songs driven by electric guitars, traditional instruments, hand claps and call-and-response vocals — from bands like Tinariwen and Etran Finatawa. But neither one has a singer like Khaira Arby, a Malian whose voice rings like a cry from the battlements. On “Timbuktu Tarab” (Clermont Music), her singing ricochets against eager backup choruses and lead-guitar lines that can hint at both Hendrix and Ali Farka Touré. Her band, mixing Western and African instruments, clearly knows its rock and reggae but keeps its African perspective, while a sinewy production flaunts every contrapuntal cascade. It’s world music that grabs and doesn’t let go.
When:
Schedule:
July 24
@ Underground music ... 
