Back in 2015 I went to Café OTO to see Mdou Moctar and found that the great delight of the evening was the support act Imarhan. I have followed the band ever since, through a selection of amazing albums such as their self-titled debut, Temet, and Aboogi. Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane (Sadam) on guitar and vocals, bassist Tahar Khaldi, guitarists Hicham Bouhasse and Abdelkader Ourzig, and percussionist Haiballah Akhamouk have a gift in being able to weave songs that sound effortless despite the obvious technical ability of each player.
On their new album Essam – which means ‘lightning’ – their sound has shifted from previous releases thanks to the help of their long-time collaborator and former sound engineer, now producer, Maxime Kosinetz. It was also recorded in their own Aboogi Studio in the heart of Tamanrasset, southern Algeria. Previous albums had a crisper edge to the production but here the use of percussive loops and electronic washes have created a fluidity to the sound that adds honey to the bravura percussion and hypnotic guitar riffs you would expect from Imarhan.
Many of the tracks encompass a dreamlike state as if recorded in the golden hour at dawn or dusk. The opening track, ‘Ahitmanin’ is a gentle invitation to the album and one of many unhurried tracks which seem to suspend time such as ‘Tamiditin’, ‘Tinfoussen’ and ‘Adounia Tochal’ which is replete with unison singing from the women of Tamanrasset honouring “their historic role in Tuareg music”. But there are plenty of tracks that quicken the pulse such as ‘Derhan N’Oulhine’, a slow build that gathers speed and unison voices, and features syncopated clapping that carries on into ‘Tellalt’, perfectly underpinning the ghostly reverb of the guitar riff.
Threaded through Essam are themes of “displacement, belonging and resilience, shaped by recent upheavals across the Sahara, from pandemic years to political instability along the Algerian-Mali border”. You can hear the lament in songs such as ‘Tamiditin’ and, helpfully, my copy came with English translations of the original Tuareg, so I was able to experience the poetry of lines such as these:
“How to cope with the epoch we’re in? How to navigate this age?”
“I’m sitting on Adrien[1] and looking at the mountains. Especially after the rains, when there’s water. Imarhan and I, we contemplate the mountains.”
“I warm myself by the flames of a fire, made with Tellalt[2] wood, It helps me to make this long winter night feel shorter.”
The name Imarhan means ‘the ones I care about’ and their music has a supreme sense of family and friendship. It’s not hard to imagine being invited to sit round a fire and share an evening listening to their music. The colloquial term ‘desert blues’ that has been applied to bands such as Imarhan does not do justice to the breadth of sounds on Essam, and aside from the utterly compelling guitar playing and percussion you would expect from assouf (loosely translates as ‘loss, longing, homesickness’) there are so many layers to delight in. Simply put, this album is a swaying, undulating, uplifting joy, and their finest hour to date.
Imarhan: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube and see their live UK dates below.
Essam is released through City Slang
Mar 18 Manchester, UK – Band On The Wall
Mar 19 Leeds, UK – Old Woolen
Mar 20 Brighton, UK – Shoreham
Mar 21 London, UK – 229
Mar 22 Cardiff, UK – Acapella
Mar 23 Falmouth, UK – The Cornish Bank
Mar 24 Bury St Edmunds, UK – Apex
Review by Paul F Cook
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[1] Adrien is the name of a very distinctive mountain that overlooks the town of Tamanrasset in southern Algeria.
[2] Tellalt is the name of aged acacia wood. When it burns it has a special smell that stirs up emotions and memories.