Music moves. Mind-body binaries begin to melt away, hands form foreign structures in the air above heads, and blood begins to course through veins with a different weight. The Saharan sounds of African rock group Tinariwen manipulated us like the strings of their guitars at the UC Theatre last Saturday night. A waypoint on the tour for their recent Elwan (2017), the show in Berkeley was a demonstration of the development ofย their sound since theirย last Bay Area performance. The band members are associated with the nomadic and politically marginalized Taureg groups of Mali and have spent the last several years away from their homelands, touring the world and recording music in Joshua Tree, California. Their music carries the spirit of the subtle complexity of the desert landscape and the life it supports. On Saturday, these nomadsย basked in the warm glow of the chandeliers and the warm winds of their rising recognition in the American musical consciousness. Powerful, onerous invocations intermingled with upliftingย hymnsย in an auditory tapestry that blanketedย the room. New songs like โTiwร yyenโ and โNizzagh IIjbalโ flowed seamlessly into older tracks like โCler Achel.โ This ebb and flow of the strange andย familiarย induced a trance acrossย the room. Welcome sounds met eager ears and invited deep contemplation, mental stillness, and everything in between. Many songs would end with the innocent question, โItโs okay?,โ as if the quantity of open-mouthed onlookers was not evidence enough to validate the sensational performance. They exuded humility despite the physical and artistic lengths they had traversed to captivate a crowd of astute artistic consumers. Tinariwen’sย music spans genres and intentions, reimagining what it means to produce art for multiple purposes. It reminds us that cross-cultural communication is not limited to words or socially sanctionedย actions. I know that the word “Tinariwen” signifies “deserts” in Tamasheq, but I understand littleย of their lyrical intent beyond that one word. Their ability to conveyย meaning beyond languageย speaks to the power of music as a tool of communication, where feeling, movement, and emotion usurp reason, expression, and speech as the primary vehicles of storytelling. This was crystal clear as the unmistakable riffs of the final encore โChaghaybouโ picked upย speed and burstย through the room like goldenย rays. Energetic percussion joined with thunderous clapping, remindingย all in the audience that, while not enough on its own, thisย physical gesture of recognition andย willingness to participate in thisย creative process has the power to narrowย divides between peoples and openย borders, and ultimatelyย build a truer “world music” scene. Article and photos by Conner Smithย Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Δ