Their eponymous debut album came out only three months ago, but Tuareg rock five-piece Imarhan have been playing together for almost a decade. Live, you can tell. From dual electric guitars, an ever-roaming bass and a two-man percussion section – including a calabash comparable in size to the Epcot centre – they create ruminative grooves that evoke the vast skies and stark beauty of their southern Algerian homeland. Often, these mesmeric songs suddenly accelerate to a frantic finish, a joyous feat of intuitive synchronisation.
Any emerging Tuareg rock outfit will find themselves compared to elder statesmen Tinariwen, and in this instance the two are particularly entwined. Imarhan frontman Sadam Ag Ibrahim is the cousin of Tinariwen bassist Eyadou Ag Leche and has played with the Grammy-winning trailblazers; Leche recently returned the favour by producing Imarhan’s album. There is a sense of heirs being prepared, although Imarhan forgo nomadic robes in favour of a look more reminiscent of the Strokes and count Daft Punk among their favourite artists.
Even in a less-than-full basement on a sodden Scottish night, they conjure up an alluring mood of campfire conviviality and bluesy soul-searching. The bass-led spiral of breakdowns and builds in Arodj N-Inizdjam inspires some impromptu dancing on the venue’s benches, while the upbeat Tahabort features suave lead guitar curlicues that would impress disco impresario Nile Rodgers. The overall effect is of a solid, traditional bedrock enlivened but not overwhelmed by outside influences. If Imarhan are the future of Tuareg music, it looks very bright.
- At Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, 3 August. Box office: 0844 884 2920. Then Komedia, Brighton, 4 August. Box office: 0845 293 8480. Then touring.
