Amatssou

Full of poetic allegory, the lyrics call for unity and freedom. There are songs of
struggle and resistance with oblique references to the recent desperate political
upheavals in Mali and the increasing power of the Salafists. “Dear brothers all
rest, all leisure will always be far from reach unless your homeland is liberated
and all the elders can live there in dignity,” Ibrahim Ag Alhabib sings on
‘Arajghiyine.’ The album’s title Amatssou is Tamashek for ‘Beyond The Fear’ and
it fits – Tinariwen have always been characterised by their fearlessness – and as
Bob Dylan once said, the power of rock’n’roll is that it makes us “oblivious to the
fear” as the music gives us the strength and resilience to confront adversity.