Aman Iman: Water is Life

I implore any and all Tinariwen fans to see them live if you get the chance..I saw them last December in a very small club/theatre here in the States and it took me months to get it out of my system--it was almost too much to take in in one night. Musical/Sensory overload. Water is Life does the concert justice, but still..See them. It will blow you away.

This collection of songs does not seem as crisp or fresh as either of Tinariwen's earlier releases. But, I have seen them live twice since their last album came out, and nothing can match the energy, intensity of this group live. The album is a good solid effort; I'm enjoying listenting to it. If you are a Tinariwen fan, so will you.

Different but very cool, definately worth a listen, well produced.
Good wind down music as it has a very thought provoking, "far away" quality to it.
Like a cross between "Dead can dance" and John Mayall.
Thanks Amazon as I wouldn't have found it without your recomendations.

I listened to it on the radio so I logged on and downloaded some songs. How cool are they! First time I've gone to the trouble of logging on to Amazon. Think I'll download some more. Reminds me of being at WOMAD.

I don't really consider it bluesy myself. It's the catchy funk rhythms and chants with crackling guitar interludes. Not all songs are winners, but overall about half will grab you and you'll instantly get an addiction for these saharan, tuareg groove merchants.

Enthralling,exciting, like nothing I have heard before. Please come to the United States!

Carla

This startlingly bluesy album reflects the sharper focus their sound has recently achieved. Guitars underpin everything, with solo voices rising out in defiance or exaltation: the opening homage to a freedom fighter killed in 1995 is marvellously eloquent, as are the appeals for peace and the hope for a future return to the homeland.
With many of the tracks recorded in the open air at night in the desert, this is an album with a rugged, epic atmosphere all of its own.
Is this to be the band that punches through the glass ceiling that has kept world music out of the mainstream? "Yes!" shout its supporters. And since its "discovery" six years ago, this group of one-time Touareg guerrilla fighters has deservedly risen to the top of the world music charts.
The liner notes honour their subject-matter by not only giving the full lyrics both in translation and in the vernacular, but also making a stab at rendering them in the ancient Touareg alphabet. The sound is beautifully mastered.The mainstream should be so lucky.
Rokku Mi Rokka
Afriki
Segu Blue
Savane
The Mande Variations
The Garifuna Women's Project

A very special and unique recording of NORTH AFRICA BLUES blended with traditional sounds of the east by AMAN IMAN .What is presented here with their music is a movie in which the sound has replaced picture describing at its utmost the adventurous scenery of the nomadic life in NORTH AFRICA .just enjoy this interesting movie .

Aman Iman: Water is Life is simply outstanding. As a long-time world music fan, the label these guys have earned in world music circles as somewhat of a "gateway group" to international artists made me suspect, but from the first bars of Cler Achel my circumspection turned to instant fandom. As other reviewers have noted, the irrepressible beats of these nomadic musicians are infectious yet invite contemplation. The other day, driving down the highway, Assouf (track 11) came on. I probably listened to the first minute about 10 times. It sneaks up on you; its beat is slower than most of the other tracks, and a distorted guitar somewhere between Ali Farka Toure, Santana, and Jimi Hendrix shatters the building percussion in an indescribable way. This is one of the few albums I can have on loop and not mind, since every new trip through the album is a journey into their stark nomadic environment. Buy this album, ye who wish to try world music for the first time and ye who are experienced fans of international tunes alike; I virtually assure complete satisfaction with the complex mix of influences that Tinariwen blend almost seamlessly.

This recording, by a group of Toureg musicians from Mali in North Africa, is the most refreshing music I have heard for a long time. Certainly a blues album but not from the Delta, Chicago or even North America at all ,rather from the African desert, yet there are other strong influences-the loping Arabic rhythms, hypnotic melodies,and a very "open" sound.

I cannot understand the vocals but this matters little as the music is universal and magic.The quality of the musicians and the recording engineers are first class with production techniques kept to a minimum.

If you like blues, jazz, or musicians such as Ry Cooder you will welcome this fresh sounding, unadulterated record into your collection.

This Music shows how connected Southern Black Blues music is to the Motherland. THESE GUYS SOUND LIKE THEY WERE RAISED IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA,But they are from the Sahara Desert in Africa,no doubt about it. They rock and boogie Just like John Lee Hooker or RL Burnside with a strong african/arabian sound! THIS IS GREAT MUSIC!

For a western ear, this is not an easy album. I've listened to this album 10 times now and I still don't get it. It is empty as a desert night, filled with all the stars you can see. It is cold as the night and warm as the day. It is soo cool to see how the world of music comes around (think Memphis to Mali) and the black blues comes back home, on all portable instruments. The instrumentation is bluesy sparse, with all kinds of hand clap rhytms, jodeling and yelping, portable drums piling it all up, some into songs with the drive of a bulldozer.
Sometimes J.L. Hooker plays guitar, Edge puts in a few notes and then Ali Farque a few for good measure. I don't know if it is Mali music or not but that it would compare with.
Give it a whirl, be patient, turn it on at night, go to sleep in the desert.

Not only is it sensational and really really different from most things you hear, but unlike a lot of world music, you feel that it could actually cross over to the pop charts if given a chance.

Many have covered the power of the music and lyrics better than I could, so I just want to note that it is difficult to get the lyrics if you download the MP3...I'm making my way through a transcription from a French site, but it might be that the cd with printed lyrics would be better for some.

If anyone's found the lyrics and translations online, please let us know.

Enjoy.

They play and sing from such an incredibly rich, raw, deep place. If you listen, the spirit of this music will make some part of your body move--guaranteed! Makes me want to dance wildly with them around a fire in the cool desert evening. Give a listen to Tinariwen (ten-AR-i-when.)

I fell in love with the music of the Tuareg/Kel Tamashek upon first seeing Tartit at a WOMAD festival in Seattle. The blues roots, the trance qualities, the dancing, the ululating all make the music so captivating.

Tinariwen take the experience up even higher. They breathe new life into the electric guitars, instruments they've only been exposed to the last 20 years. I've picked up a number of Tuareg CDs in the subsequent years, and Tinariwen stand on top of the lot for their great musicianship and great heart.

The story of Tinariwen is remarkable. Banned by African governments for years, these one time rebels chose to focus their energies into the music with powerful messages for a new generation of Tuareg. The old nomadic lifestyle no longer fits in today's society and Tinariwen aren't afraid to call for government representation and educated youth while still drawing on the stories and music of old. Tinariwen grabbed the world's attention in performance at the 2001 Festival of the Desert and have shared stages with everyone from early friends Lo'Jo to the Rolling Stones and Robert Plant ever since.

The Tuareg may have adopted Islam many years ago, but their culture still holds many of their older, animist beliefs. Women can get divorces, the men wear the veils, and the music calls for respect for the life around us and the world we live in.

Aman Iman includes songs old and new, primarily be leader Ibrahim. Even today he still enjoys nights spent out in the desert, under the stars, feeling the music flow through him. Lucky us!

"Aman Iman:Water is Life" sounds like something snatched from the desert-dwelling Fremen in Frank Herbert's epic Dune series. In its third album, Tinariwen is still offering hypnotic,magical desert grooves. Their songs meld effortlessly into each other like swirling desert sands. They sing songs of longing and exile, coming from the burning desert lands.

The opening song,"Cler Achel:I spent the day",is an electrifying song about longing. "Matadjem Yinmixan:Why all this hate between you?" is a joyous exhortation to put an end to tribal and factional rivalries. "Ahimana:Oh my soul" is spare,like a spiritual. "Toumast:The People" is a rallying cry. All the songs are spiced up with handclaps,and ululations.

"Water is Life" has brought mainstream appeal to the desert rockers Tinariwen,though they sound nothing like Clear Channel or Top 40 radio. They have received plaudits in Bono's Africa-themed Vanity Fair issue as well as from Blender magazine,but they have kept their gritty desert sound. "Water is Life" shows that Mali's deserts are alive--with musical water. They are an oasis in the wasteland of popular music.

Finding Tinariwen made me happy. This group does to rhythm what Anoushka Shankar does to the 8 note scale. These are the strongest rhythms I've ever heard. They are something alive, you want to step aside to let it pass, you want to spin it and ultimately you want to dance with it.

This in NO way fits within my definition of atmospheric music. That genre was done to perfection by Eno 15 years ago. No, this music may invoke trances, it may put you on a plane to Timbuktu it may make you inexplicably desire to wrap your entire head in a sheet. It may cause you to dance your wife out of the living room, down the hall and into the bedroom. But it will not let you ignore it.

If you find yourself thinking this is atmospheric music then you're not listening. Consider it rock music. Turn it way up until plaster falls off lathe and then you will hear what you have missed.

5 stars squared.

A mixture of funky guitar,traditional drums, and an array of upbeat instruments nicely compliments the seriousness and heaviness of the songs lyrics. All songs are translated for you in the "liner notes". Highly recommended.

Just like Amassakoul, Aman Iman is some of the best music on the entire planet. A mix of blues and northern African styles that puts you in a trance.

I like the way he touches the guitar. At first I saw Tiraniwen three years ago and was not so impressed, but little by little I got the feeling for this desert rebel. He is wonderful bluesy and still totally based in his Mali culture. What I like very much is that he feels for all Mali tribes and cultures. He is a good example for harmony and peace. I want to visit the Desert Music Festival in Timbouktou in 2008.

Tinariwen has often been described as "John Lee Hooker in the Sahara." While that baseline is a decent enough introduction, it's not nearly enough to embrace this band. This album follows Amassakoul, my first Tinariwen CD, and Aman Iman surpasses Amassakoul in every way. Depending on your mood, the music is soothing, hypnotic, challenging and stirring. The variations worked on repetitive figures reward repeated listening. If you haven't heard Tinariwen, Aman Iman is a great place to start.

Aman Iman: Water is Life the latest, brilliantly vibrant album by the band Tinariwen, a group of Tuareg nomads-turned-rock-performers. Known for the daring, hard-edged bluesy sound and their commitment to Tuareg independence, Tinariwen presents Aman Iman with documentation offering transliteration and English translation of the lyrics, which speak profoundly of exile, resilience, and determination in spite of strife and division. Aman Iman speaks out against both governmental dominance and the tendency to look too much inward and too little outward within traditional Tuareg society itself. A passionate, soul-charged album that embraces life and calls out for change. The tracks are Cler Achel (4:25), Mano Dayak (5:41), Matadjem Yinmixan (5:43), Ahimana (5:43), Soixante Trois (4:56), Toumast (4:25), Imidiwan Winakalin (4:25), Awa Didjen (4:11), Ikyadarh Dim (3:35), Tamatant Tilay (3:19), Assouf (3:56) and Izarharh Tenere (5:02).

If you're bored with American rockers who like to pretend that they're sticking it to the man, make yourself familiar with the lyrical and musical wonders of Tinariwen. Made up of former freedom fighters in the quest for the independence of the Touareg people from the colonialist regimes of North Africa, the musicians of Tinariwen possess a true revolutionary wisdom that Americans can only dream about, as they really have been persecuted by the authorities in their home country of Mali. Tinariwen also has a very unique musical history. Legend has it that early in their history as a band, the musicians happened to come across a stash of old blues records and dilapidated electric guitars, all of which had been unknown in their country. Tinariwen has combined a unique interpretation of the blues, homegrown guitar and bass techniques, and the traditional music of the Touareg people - thus creating a relentlessly fascinating sound that is as sparse and haunting as the immense Saharan landscape in which they dwell.

The liner notes for this album state that many of the songs were written over Tinariwen's 25-year history. Since they were not able to record professional-quality releases until recent years, it appears that Tinariwen has spread this extensive backlog across their recent releases. Therefore, this album sounds very similar to Tinariwen's last album, the equally fascinating Amassakoul. But rest assured that more is definitely better in the case of this band's equally exotic and accessible music. Established fans will especially appreciate the songs on this album that illustrate Tinariwen's effortless ability to branch out and expand their vision. The opener "Cler Achel" is a swinging blues-rock workout that is sparsely percussive and nearly funky, "Toumast" incorporates haunting effects from dub reggae, and "Assouf" features some wicked wah-wah that sounds like what Jimi Hendrix might have come up with if he had traveled with Brian Jones or Robert Plant through the Sahara. The masterful and exotic Touareg style of vocal arrangement is also prevalent throughout this album, particularly in "Imidiwan Winakalin" and "Awa Didjen." Tinariwen deliver music that is truly revolutionary - especially for listeners who crave enlightenment through intriguing and exotic new sounds. [~doosmdayer520~]

Having emerged from the southern Sahara in 2001 - where, as rebel fighters, they once carried guns as well as guitars - Tinariwen have become one of the most successful acts to come out of Africa in decades.
"Aman Iman" is their third album and by far their most accessible.
The key to its appeal is that, as well as the circular Touareg vocals, chanting and rhythms, there are bluesy guitar licks and an unruly energy that create sound like the raw elements of rock and roll.
Here, then, is a record that will unite fans of Ali Farka Toure and Keith Richards - no mean feat.
With many of the tracks recorded in the open air at night in the desert, this is an album with a rugged, epic atmosphere all of its own.

Is this to be the band that punches through the glass ceiling that has kept world music out of the mainstream? "Yes!" shout its supporters. And since its "discovery" six years ago, this group of one-time Touareg guerrilla fighters has deservedly risen to the top of the world music charts.

This startlingly bluesy album reflects the sharper focus their sound has recently achieved. Guitars underpin everything, with solo voices rising out in defiance or exaltation: the opening homage to a freedom fighter killed in 1995 is marvellously eloquent, as are the appeals for peace and the hope for a future return to the homeland. The liner notes honour their subject-matter by not only giving the full lyrics both in translation and in the vernacular, but also making a stab at rendering them in the ancient Touareg alphabet. The sound is beautifully mastered, and it's all acoustic. The mainstream should be so lucky.