Terakaft - Alone '2015

Tracks list

Terakaft the pioneers of desert rock are back. With their most rock oriented
offering to date and – at the same time – their most personal:
Ténéré – ‚Alone‘. An album that was born out of a
need to maintain sanity in times of broken dreams and lies. „I call on
every brother who loves his nation“, sings Diara, „to stop saying
bad words, that destroy our people“. 

‚Alone‘ was born out of a need to maintain sanity in times of broken
dreams and lies. It might be their most rock oriented album to date but at the
same time it is their most poetic. Five years ago with their album “Aratan
N Azawad” and even the follow up “Kel Tamasheq”, Terakaft was
still full of hope, things had started to change. Today the soil that was
supposed to blossom is burnt by selfishness and rivalry. 

„There are too many characters in the picture, too many chiefs and not
enough people“, says Diara when asked about the political developments in
the last years. He used to sing political songs back in the days in his rebel
youth when he was still playing guitar with Tinariwen. Nowadays he is only
watching with a new feeling growing inside him: “Ténéré”,
which is the title he gave to this album, and which translates to:
“Alone”. Back in the days when they were sitting in the dunes
drinking tea with big hopes for the future, singing their songs into the night,
his nephew Sanou was sitting next to him, still a young boy. Occasionally the
uncle would hand his guitar to the nephew, so he could play along with the
others. Just before the international success story of Tinariwen started, Diara
got stuck on his way to Bamako a missed flight and his place in Tinariwen was
taken. Meanwhile Sanou had set up his own band Terakaft. Today Diara and Sanou
are the backbone of Terakaft: the guardians of desert blues. Diara is the spirit
of the band, as strong as a rock. Sanou – his nephew – is the
heart of Terakaft. He brings the life to its spirit. Diara the elder, lays out
heavy rhythms pulsing through his guitar. Sanou has become the natural heir to
the sound of “assouf”, with his intense rock riffs and an up-lifting
attitude towards life. 

‚Alone‘ is the 5th album of Terakaft. It was produced by Justin
Adams who is one of the musicians from Europe who has delved deep into Tuareg
music in the last years. Adams is known as a musician and producer through his
work with Robert Plant, Tinariwen and Juldeh Camara. He has geared up “The
Caravan” to reach new shores and hit the dancefloors. In these troubled
times, they have made an album together, that presents the deep Saharan rhythms
as a vital contemporary heartbeat. Standing on the ruins of their peoples dreams
they sing to their brothers and sisters about true friendship and tolerance. 

„It’s a bloody marvellous album, I can’t stop playing Oulhin
Asnin, particularly and I keep expecting some astral Neil Young electric guitar
to come swooping into it.“ (Andy Kershaw, BBC Radio) 

„Terakaft’s sound is the starkest and most compelling excursion yet
into the sonic world of the Sahara.“ (Mark Hudson, The Daily Telegraph,
UK) 

Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara), guitars, vocals
Sanou Ag Ahmed, guitars, vocals
Additional musicians: 
Nicolas Grupp, drums
Abdallah Ag Ahmed, bass
Ibrahim Ahmed (aka Pino), bass
Brahim Fribgane, percussions
Richard Emery, bass 

Tracklist:
4:00 | 01. Terakaft - Anabayou
5:02 | 02. Terakaft - Tafouk Tele
3:21 | 03. Terakaft - Karambani
3:17 | 04. Terakaft - Itilla Ihene Dagh Aitma
4:04 | 05. Terakaft - Oulhin Asnin
4:24 | 06. Terakaft - Kal Hoggar
4:05 | 07. Terakaft - Amidinin Senta Aneflas
3:46 | 08. Terakaft - Wahouche Natareh
4:31 | 09. Terakaft - Anabayou (Solo)
4:56 | 10. Terakaft - Ta Fouck Tele (Dance Mix) [Bonus Track]

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