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…..Imarhan, meaning ‘the ones I care about’
Coming together in 2006, Imarhan are an Angerian Tureg desert rock quartet who formed in Tamanrasset, Southern Algeria. The city of their birth is a place where the Tuareg community of Northern Mali, Kel Tamashek people, ended their exile in the early 1990’s, following the multiple struggles they have been experiencing since the 1960’s.
The band were already friends before they began making music together and began to play together under the watchful eye of frontman, Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane’s cousin, Eyadou Ag Leche (bass guitarist of their ‘older brothers’ Tinariwen). Their distinct sound reflects their cultural and generational background and are based upon dry guitar riffs, pop melodies and pan-African rhythms which draw on traditional Tuareg music, African ballads and the modern pop and rock the band heard growing up.
Their first two albums, Imarhan and Temet, were released on German record label City Slang and it is on their self-titled debut that we can find today’s song. Assossamagh. Bursting with winding, melodic guitars and light-footed percussion, the bass adds a plush, deep layer as its punchy groove dances in the background. The song shifts with a flow that gets you nodding and speaks to you in many rich tones, as lyrics deliver a cautionary message, advising the listener not to be fooled by the words of others. Check it out above and listen to more of Imarhan’s music here.
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