etran de l’aïr – agadez

25 years of experience in getting the crowd dancing at local parties in the middle of the Sahara is the base for ‘Agadez’. Call-and-response vocals take backstage to a tapestry of trebley guitar solos and relentless drums. Meanwhile, staples of desert blues permeate throughout, with reflective lyrics tied to their hometown’s (Agadez) place at the centre of conflict and migration. It isn’t quite an oasis in the desert, though, often feeling fixed at one pace; there are times when even Shazam could tell you the group’s influences. This is nonetheless a record for making the crowd move, and it certainly achieves that

21/30

A favourite: ‘Tarha Warghey Ichile’