Alone Terakaft

• 1 Anabayou 04:00
• 2 Tafouk Tele 05:02
• 3 Karambani 03:21
• 4 Itilla Ihene Dagh Aitma 03:16
• 5 Oulhin Asnin 04:04
• 6 Kal Hoggar 04:23
• 7 Amidinin Senta Aneflas 04:04
• 8 Wahouche Natareh 03:46
• 9 ANABAYOU (Solo)  04:30
• 10 Ta Fouck Tele (Dance Mix) 04:55
• Total Runtime 41:21

Info for Alone

Terakaft the pioneers of desert rock are back. With their most rock oriented offering to date and – at the same time – their most personal: Ténéré – ‚Alone‘. An album that was born out of a need to maintain sanity in times of broken dreams and lies. „I call on every brother who loves his nation“, sings Diara, „to stop saying bad words, that destroy our people“.

‚Alone‘ was born out of a need to maintain sanity in times of broken dreams and lies. It might be their most rock oriented album to date but at the same time it is their most poetic. Five years ago with their album “Aratan N Azawad” and even the follow up “Kel Tamasheq”, Terakaft was still full of hope, things had started to change. Today the soil that was supposed to blossom is burnt by selfishness and rivalry.

„There are too many characters in the picture, too many chiefs and not enough people“, says Diara when asked about the political developments in the last years. He used to sing political songs back in the days in his rebel youth when he was still playing guitar with Tinariwen. Nowadays he is only watching with a new feeling growing inside him: “Ténéré”, which is the title he gave to this album, and which translates to: “Alone”. Back in the days when they were sitting in the dunes drinking tea with big hopes for the future, singing their songs into the night, his nephew Sanou was sitting next to him, still a young boy. Occasionally the uncle would hand his guitar to the nephew, so he could play along with the others. Just before the international success story of Tinariwen started, Diara got stuck on his way to Bamako a missed flight and his place in Tinariwen was taken. Meanwhile Sanou had set up his own band Terakaft. Today Diara and Sanou are the backbone of Terakaft: the guardians of desert blues. Diara is the spirit of the band, as strong as a rock. Sanou – his nephew – is the heart of Terakaft. He brings the life to its spirit. Diara the elder, lays out heavy rhythms pulsing through his guitar. Sanou has become the natural heir to the sound of “assouf”, with his intense rock riffs and an up-lifting attitude towards life.

‚Alone‘ is the 5th album of Terakaft. It was produced by Justin Adams who is one of the musicians from Europe who has delved deep into Tuareg music in the last years. Adams is known as a musician and producer through his work with Robert Plant, Tinariwen and Juldeh Camara. He has geared up “The Caravan” to reach new shores and hit the dancefloors. In these troubled times, they have made an album together, that presents the deep Saharan rhythms as a vital contemporary heartbeat. Standing on the ruins of their peoples dreams they sing to their brothers and sisters about true friendship and tolerance.

„It’s a bloody marvellous album, I can’t stop playing Oulhin Asnin, particularly and I keep expecting some astral Neil Young electric guitar to come swooping into it.“ (Andy Kershaw, BBC Radio)

„Terakaft’s sound is the starkest and most compelling excursion yet into the sonic world of the Sahara.“ (Mark Hudson, The Daily Telegraph, UK)

Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara), guitars, vocals
Sanou Ag Ahmed, guitars, vocals
Additional musicians:
Nicolas Grupp, drums
Abdallah Ag Ahmed, bass
Ibrahim Ahmed (aka Pino), bass
Brahim Fribgane, percussions
Richard Emery, bass

Terakaft
(meaning "caravan" in Tamasheq) is a genuine desert rock band, sculpted by the pure searing air and the endless rolling sands of the Sahara. The stark, harsh conditions of the Sahara have permeated their wild riffs, and as a result Terakaft are the perfect embodiment of all that is wild and free in desert blues today. They have taken the electric guitar and made it their own.

Terakaft was formed in 2001 by Sanou Ag Ahmed, then based in Kidal, Mali with Kedou Ag Ossad. Kedou was a member of the original line-up of Tinariwen (four of Kedou’s compositions are embodied on their first international release "The Radio Tisdas Sessions").

Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara), Sanou’s uncle, joined the band in 2006. Diara was also an original member of Tinariwen and was known for his fierce and passionate style of rock’n’roll guitar playing. He played with Tinariwen for almost 20 years, but stepped back just before Tinariwen started touring internationally. He’s still a close friend of Ibrahim "Abaraybone" Ag Alhabib, and played on Tinariwen’s last album "Imidiwan : Companions" (as did Sanou and Abdallah of Terakaft).

Terakaft recorded their first studio album "Bismilla, The Bko Sessions" in four days at the legendary Bogolan Studios in Bamako, Mali. Following its release, Terakaft went on their first European tour in Spring & Autumn of 2007 with its line-up of the time : Sanou, Kedou, Diara and Rhissa Ag Oghram on the bass.

Terakaft’s second album, "Akh Issudar" was produced by Jean-Paul Romann (Tinariwen, Lo’Jo) and released in 2008. Rhissa, who had left the band prior to the recording, was replaced in 2008 by Jean- Louis Livenais (of Akeikoi). Terakaft also released an EP of live recordings in 2008, which is a record of Kedou’s last gigs prior to his departure from the band.

Kedou left Terakaft in 2008 as he preferred to remain in the desert, and Diara stepped in as leader of the band. The band were then joined by Abdallah Ag Ahmed, Sanou’s younger brother, making Terakaft a true family band. Abdallah became the bass player of the band. In 2009, Mahamad Moha (aka Tohandy) joined the band on percussion for one year. He was replaced in 2010 by Mathias Vagunez (also of Akeikoi). This line-up will be completed in 2011 with a Touareg percussionist.

Terakaft’s roster of songs were mainly written by Diara and Inteyeden Ag Ablil, Diara’s brother. Inteyeden was a Touareg legend and he and Ibrahim "Abaraybone" Ag Alhabib, were co-founders of Tinariwen. Inteyeden passed away in 1994, but his influence is still felt and heard today in the music of Tinariwen and Terakaft. The more modern sounding Terakaft tracks have been written by Diara, Sanou and Abdallah and have a more "pop" sound in the true sense that it is "popular" music, listened to and sung every day by Tamasheq youth.

Terakaft are a band that must be seen live. The perfect mix of two rhythm guitars (one keeping the beat effortlessly, the other soaring and sweet) and the deep tones of the bass, bringing to mind the delicate but strong steps of a camel making its way through the wastelands, will send you on a journey to the deepest heart of the desert, from which you’ll never want to return. The heavy, pulsating heartbeat of the percussion holds everyone together and completes the sound of Terakaft.pulsating heartbeat of the percussion holds everyone together and completes the sound of Terakaft.

Booklet for Alone