Nomad

The early desert blues artists were influenced by the likes of Santana and Robert Plant, but when the sounds of the Sahara and Sahel reached global audiences in the early 2000s, it was the turn of Western guitarists to tune into the “exotic” sounds of their Tuareg counterparts. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys is one of the artists who has been paying attention to the music coming from that part of the world, and his pairing with Niger’s Bombino on this album is a natural one. On Nomad Auerbach’s touch elevates the atmospheric quality of Bombino’s music, while maintaining its original, raw feel, a blend that helped him along the way to becoming an international star. But snazzy production or not, Bombino is a star in his own right, especially among the youth of Agadez, who view him as a powerful voice for their frustrations and a defender of their rights.