Press Accolades

'Wailing, twisting songs as gritty as the desert wind' 4****stars, Top Of The World, Songlines
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'Two groups of desert nomads meld their music in the sparse, spellbinding songs of Etran Finatawa...mesmerizing' New York Times, USA

'Desert Crossroads finds Etran Finatawa's mojo on the rise — charming, urgent, dark and rockin' — a celebration of life and expression of the profound pain of separation and loss.' LA Weekly

4****stars, The Guardian, UK

4****stars, Financial Times, UK

Etran Finatawa

Among the grasslands of the Sahel and the shifting dunes of the Sahara desert, two legendary nomadic peoples, the Wodaabe and Tuareg, are joined together in the raunchy guitars and haunting voices of Etran Finatawa. As the winds of change cast uncertainty over their nomadic lifestyle, both cultures are at a crossroads. Etran Finatawa reflect on their roots, with a nostalgia and warmth that mirrors the majesty of their desert home.

They are six musicians – Tuareg and Wodaabe people but now based in Niamey, Niger. Many of the songs on this album reflect their longing to return to their roots – the nomadic lifestyle which relies on cattle, the great expanse of the Sahelian grasslands and never-ending dunes of the Sahara. Since the release of their first BBC Award-nominated album (Introducing: Etran Finatawa, 2006) the band toured constantly all over the world. It wasn't until July 2007 that they found time to record Desert Crossroads, produced by Paul Borg (Mory Kanté, Abdel Gadir Salim).

Desert Crossroads is an album of North African blues, underpinned by acoustic percussion, traditional Wodaabe vocals, fused with electric guitar and Tuareg rhythms. The combination of Wodaabe vocals and Tuareg rhythms and arrangements is quite unique. The songs are nostalgic reflections on their people and the desert. ‘Kel Tamasheck' (The Tuareg People) reminds how important the Tuareg culture is and not to abandon the desert, ‘ the wind that takes everything on its way and people just fled by foot leaving behind them nothing but sadness and desolation'. ‘Iguefan' (The Dune) talks of the worries of the Tuaregs ‘ this unique people existing but they are all dispersed…and they are not able to get together and reunite to show that they are one people.'

‘Gaynaako' (The Herdsman) is a Wodaabe song in praise of the nomad who tends his animals so precious to life in the desert and ‘Naanaaye', another Wodaabe song, is about healing, creating the different calling sounds of animals, the flute, the hand clapping, which instantly takes you to the dunes and grasslands of Etran Finatawa's homelands.

This album is about rapid change threatening age-old traditions – a warning that their rich culture and identity must be cherished and allowed to flourish. ‘We don't understand it when you say “rich” and “poor”. For us the riches are the animals in our herds, our riches are our traditions that give us the values that we have lived by for generations.' (Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla, Etran Finatawa)

For more information visit www.etranfinatawa.com

 

 

Desert Crossroads - Lyrics

01        Saghmar N Nanna (Respect Your Mother)
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Ghalitane: ‘Saghmar N Nanna is a song about our mother. Every child should respect its mother, because it was her giving birth with pain.’

Give your mother all of respect
That is the best in the world
It was her giving birth to you in the sand dunes without any help of a doctor or a midwife
There is health centre out there and no nurse!
This is the price of thousands of sufferings or even losing life.
She is believing in God, who has created her, He who has all the destiny in his hands for all and everything
How can we respect somebody who rejects his mother?

02        Kel Tamasheck (The Tuareg People)
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Ghalitane: ‘This song tells my own people, the Tuareg people, how important their culture is. It should remind them not to forget about it, because it is the culture that makes our nomadic life nice and beautiful.’

They must be admired
Especially when they drink their tea served by a young girl dressed in a blue tissue
The drought that has killed the animals has been passed everywhere
The wind that dries the leaves of the trees blown everywhere
Not one drop of salivating water
The wind takes everything on its way
And people just fled by foot leaving behind them nothing but sadness and desolation.

03        Iguefan (The Dune)
(Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla)
Alhousseini: ‘Perhaps you know that according to Islamic tradition the performance of music is "haram", forbidden and not encouraged. However, it is more subtle when the music tells the history of our people, our families. Our music does that. We are trying with this music to save the values of our tradition. Our traditional lifestyle is eroding. The weather is changing, the youth have left the small cities and village and have come to the capital and want to live as they see it on TV. Before we had pastures, with goats, cows, camels. In recent years our pastures have disappeared, we have lost our herds. The lyrics of our songs don't remember the old lifestyle but document how we can stick to our traditional values in modern life.’

I walk over the dunes of sand
Thinking
About the people of the Tuareg
This unique people
This unique people existing
But they are all dispersed in all these different countries
And they are not able to get together and reunite to show that they are one people

04        Tea Ceremony I
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)

05        Jama’aare (Everybody)
(words Bammo Agonla, music Bammo Agonla/Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla)
Bammo Agonla:‘This song is about people, our neighbours, and all the people sharing our environment with us.  It is a song of solidarity. It is a homage for all ethnic groups in Niger.’

A man is nothing when he is alone.
People need other people.
You leave your homestead and you find them all:
Tuareg, Arabs and Wodaabe in the north, the Toubou in the east
And in the south Hausa, in the west Zarma and Gourmantché

06        Tekana (The Beauty Of The Desert)
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Ghalitane: ‘Actually with “Tekana” I want to tell people about the beauty of our desert – the Ténéré.’

The desert, Ténéré desert is really so beautiful
Especially when you roast some meat on hot fire
Waiting for the tea to be ready.
The desert wind is coming and with him the bad news of all the problems of the desert
I am scared, the situation of my people is scaring me
Desert of Ténéré,
My dream is to get back to the origins, those far far origins in the wide sunny valleys
That your people get back and live like before in dignity and happiness
Too many eyes are watching you now with all your sand grains
To get the grass and the green herbs back to your earth.

07        Ganyo Maada (Envy)
(words Bagui Bouga, music Bagui Bouga/Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Bagui Bouga: ‘Before we didn’t know envy. When somebody was poor it was quite clear that people would genuinely help him by bringing him milk and food, even lending him an animal that would provide him with milk or until this animal has new calves. Poor people would easily go to ask for help because they knew they would be well received. But nowadays people just think about themselves, they don’t share as much as before. Even when somebody is rich, he may not share his richness to help others, or he will give little. So poor people do not tend to go to him because they know they may not get anything.’

Hey you who has envy you don’t want to greet the people
Hey you who has envy you don’t like other people,
You don’t want to share and you don’t want to be with them!
Hey Ganyo Maada change your mind get clear about that and
Become as it should be.

08        Soto
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Ghalitane: ‘“Soto” is a homage for my grandmother. She who has known so many things, she who had suffered so much.’

Soto, be patient,
Soto, where is your cow Zirgliaf?
Zirgliaf was a present for your first wedding.
Because of Zirgliaf you were becoming rich.
But then a terrible drought.
Zirgliaf died with all the other breed.
You were obliged to leave the paradise in the desert.
To get to the city and to live this hell in the city.
Life and all visions are gone.
Soto, be patient,
accept your destiny!

09        Asistan (Question)
(Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla)
Alhousseini:‘I like to sing about the cultural question. That is the question I ask my people in “Asistan”! I composed this song in 1994. My people were really suffering in those days and that was hard to see, to cope with! Actually this song is about solidarity. We are one ethnic group, but many, many different subgroups. I know my friend will listen and he might tell another friend about these songs and maybe they will sit together, prepare some tea and talk about this and will try to find an answer to this question! And maybe one of these young people will even follow my advice!’

Tuareg people I have one question
That I want to ask you!
This question is serious and needs an answer.
Not any answer but a well-reflected answer.

10        Bagui’s Soundscape
(Bagui Bouga)

11        Gaynaako (The Herdsman)
(words Bagui Bouga, music Bagui Bouga/Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla)
Bagui Bouga:‘I wanted to sing about the animals, about respect for our animals! Without his animals, a nomad is nothing. I sing for him because now these nomads are more and more disappearing. That is very sad. The animals need to move very often. They need to move to find new grasslands, clean and proper green land. An animal that is not moving is not happy and its milk is not tasty! When the rain fell, the nomads are moving a lot. That is the best time of the year! I composed “Gaynaako” for the herdsmen, to remind them being kind with their animals. During the rain, the cows have a lot of milk, we are drinking litres of milk, we feel good, we are happy, singing, dancing, celebrating our culture. We are strong, having big feasts.’

Here is the rain from the north
The cows are well fed
The sheep are well fed
Let’s go and find a new place with good pasture
Let’s gather all the nomads
It is the time to be together to do a worso our traditional feasts
Our land is green
And where are the people who sing
And the chorus sings: The nomad is happy!

Bagui Bouga: ‘I make music to bring my culture all over the world and to talk about the problems of nomads nowadays.  We see how more and more things are just disappearing.  That is so sad. The sweet flavour of life is gone and there are just sufferings left. What will happen in our lives? We Wodaabe we think a lot. What will happen with us? What will we be one day? We want to discuss this among our families, among other Wodaabe. Even if we have lost so much already, we have kept one thing – the relationship between us, between people. And we have kept and we will keep our traditions. Because traditions have helped us so much since. It is by means of traditions that we meet other people and we find relationships with others. It is by means of our traditions that we were able to travel, to move, to meet other people, other cultures in the desert and all over the world.’

12        Alghalem Taxat (The Herdsmen In Their Environment – Everything Is OK!)
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)
Ghalitane: ‘I started making music in 1990. At the time I already lived in the capital of Niger Republic, Niamey. I make music because I love music, music from Niger and African music in general. “Alghalem Taxat” is about the fast desertification of my country and about the fight against it. It is a call to protect our fauna and flora, our animals, our birds!’

Happy people
Now in problems
Life was beautiful
Camels, cows, goats,
They all gave milk
People loved each other
But since then the desert is invading
This beauty is gone
The desert is invading so fast
Taking the green grass
Drying out the trees.
Please nomads
Try to keep the trees,
The sand is ours as are the birds, the wild animals and the oases
All these nice things are ours
Please preserve it!

13        Tea Ceremony II
(trad)

14        Amidinine (My Friend)
(Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla)
Alhousseini:‘I composed “Amidinine” for the youth: the youth of Niger or even the African youth. They forget so quickly how they have been brought up, how they lived. They forget so quickly about their culture, their identity! They just take any other culture. So that is why I sing this song actually for my friend. I know if people listen to this song they might think about their culture about their identity. That is what I really fear, that our culture will disappear one day! We should try to keep our cultural identity!’

My friend, don’t forget about your friends in good times
And follow the bad things that might make you forget about your friends
Keep bright and open up your heart for the nice things
Keep it clean if you want to escape from bad surprises in your life.

15        Naanaaye
(trad, arr Bammo Agonla)
Bammo Agonla: ‘This is a traditional Wodaabe song, a healing song. The traditional doctor or a famous singer (we call him orooji) will be able to heal some mental sickness with this song.’

Naannaaye is also a creative sound picture of the Sahelian grassland with its sounds, the different calling of animals, the flute, the hand-clapping that easily takes the listener with him to the dunes and into the beauty of the nomad’s environment.

16        Tea Ceremony III
(Ghalitane Khamidoune)

 

Other albums released by Etran Finatawa