Mali Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/mali/ New and independent music Fri, 25 Mar 2022 17:05:20 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-finalwhite-e1490809629909-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Mali Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/mali/ 32 32 88787050 Terakaft – Jagwar https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2022/03/25/terakaft-jagwar/ Fri, 25 Mar 2022 17:05:20 +0000 https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=28006 Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara) played in the internationally renowned Tuareg rock band Tinariwen for twenty years, before leaving to form Terakaft. He brought with him his distinctive style of electric guitar, which is as stark and wild as the desert landscape of northern Mali where he grew up. “A world made of light, dust, goats, tree shadows, gas, tea and fire,” as their bio puts it, “where teenagers don’t dream of being footballers but guitarists.” ‘Jagwar’, the latest release […]

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]]> Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara) played in the internationally renowned Tuareg rock band Tinariwen for twenty years, before leaving to form Terakaft. He brought with him his distinctive style of electric guitar, which is as stark and wild as the desert landscape of northern Mali where he grew up. “A world made of light, dust, goats, tree shadows, gas, tea and fire,” as their bio puts it, “where teenagers don’t dream of being footballers but guitarists.”

‘Jagwar’, the latest release by Terakaft on Marseille label/radio station Secousse, is both a new single and a celebration of the band’s history. It combines a 7″ record of a new song (backed with a special acoustic version) and a book by Philippe Brix, the band’s tour manager for the last two decades. Ultimately, the package is a “coming-of-age story,” as the album notes put it, “a tale of resilience, of doom, of family, of utmost tensions and unrivaled peace, the adventure of a life time.” Saharan cowboy music which understands the persistent power of the guitar. “A Kalashnikov has thirty bullets in a magazine; once you’ve emptied it, it’s over,” Diara says. “A guitar has no limits.”

Jagwar will be released on 15th April via Secousse. You can preorder it now via Bandcamp.

photo of terakaft jagwar record and novel by Philippe Brix on secousse

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]]> 28006 Bells Atlas – Bling https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2015/05/13/bells-atlas-bling/ Wed, 13 May 2015 13:30:03 +0000 http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=4271 Bells Atlas are a band from Oakland, CA who make distinctive, prismatic music which draws upon a diverse range of styles and artists, blending the visceral emotions of R&B and soul with an off-the-wall, avant-garde vibe akin to Dirty Projectors and tUnE-yArDs. Indeed, their own bio describes them as: “kaleidosonic soul punch, afro-soul, rhythm pop-sicles, taste the r’nbow – Missy Elliot meets Bjork meets the Malian-born love child of David Longstreth and Annie Clark.” I think the only thing that could possibly be […]

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]]> Bells Atlas are a band from Oakland, CA who make distinctive, prismatic music which draws upon a diverse range of styles and artists, blending the visceral emotions of R&B and soul with an off-the-wall, avant-garde vibe akin to Dirty Projectors and tUnE-yArDs. Indeed, their own bio describes them as: “kaleidosonic soul punch, afro-soul, rhythm pop-sicles, taste the r’nbow – Missy Elliot meets Bjork meets the Malian-born love child of David Longstreth and Annie Clark.” I think the only thing that could possibly be more apt a description of Bells Atlas’ sound is Sophie Roach‘s artwork for their new EP, Hyperlust.

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‘Bling’ is the latest single from Hyperlust, a jagged pop hit which manages to not only bathe the listener in a glowing summer chill but also challenge the concept of capital-T Truth in reality and the mind, answering its own mystical questions with the only fair motto of our times. I don’t know.

“What do you mean?
I don’t know
Just a sign of science
Just a sign of science
What did you see?
Eyes to the floor
And if I do not understand it, was it real?
What do you mean?
I don’t know”

Hyperlust will be released on the 31st May and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp. If, like me, you are new to the band, be sure to go back and explore their previous releases.

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