Product Description
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Omara Bombino Moctara, a young Tuareg guitarist and songwriter
from Agadez, Niger, was raised during an era of armed struggles
for independence and violent suppression by government forces,
and the spirit of resistance and rebellion comes through in his
mesmerizing music. In Bombino's electrifying jams you can hear
echoes of fellow Africans Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touri as well
as rock and blues icons Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy
Page.
About the Artist
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Omara "Bombino" Moctar, whose given name is Goumar Almoctar, was
born on January 1st, 1980 in Tidene, Niger, an encampment of
nomadic Tuaregs located about 80 kilometers to the northeast of
Agadez. He is a member of the Ifoghas tribe, which belongs to the
Kel Air Tuareg federation. His her is a car mechanic and his
mother takes care of the home, as is the Tuareg tradition.
Bombino was raised as a Muslim and taught to consider honor,
dignity and generosity as principal tenets of life.
The Tuareg, known amongst themselves as the Kel Tamasheq, have
long been recognized as warriors, traders and travelers of the
Sahara Desert - as a people of grace and nobility as well as
fighters of fierce reputation. They are a nomadic people
descended from the Berbers of North Africa and for centuries have
fought against colonialism and the imposition of strict Islamic
rule.
Bombino spent his early childhood between the encampment and the
town of Agadez, the largest city in northern Niger (population
about 90,000) and long a key part of the ancient Sahara trade
routes connecting North Africa and the Mediterranean with West
Africa. One of seventeen brothers and sisters (including half
brothers and half sisters from both his mother and her),
Bombino was enrolled in school in Agadez, but he demonstrated his
rebellious spirit early on and refused to go. Bombino's
grandmother took him in to keep his her from forcing him to go
to school, and, like most Tuareg children, he grew up living with
his grandmother.
Eventually, Bombino gave in and began attending a French-Arabic
school that taught both French and classic Arabic. After three
years, he left the school and at the age of nine he returned to
his grandmother to live the life of an independent Tuareg child.
The Tuareg culture is matriarchic, and the elder women are
considered the chiefs of the community, the wise sages that
represent the power of life, generosity and knowledge. Bombino's
grandmother instilled in him the Tuareg moral code in order for
him to grow up as a respected member of society. Young Tuareg
boys are called "arawan n tchimgharen", or "grandmother's
children", a term that is considered a badge of honor.
In 1984, a drought hit Niger and Mali, killing most of the
region's livestock, forcing people to leave the countryside and
move into the cities or migrate to Algeria and Libya. Eventually,
Tuareg communities in those countries organized a rebellion to
defend their rights, as they felt overlooked and underrepresented
by local governments. Before the fighting began, rebels began
teaching the community about the goals of the rebellion through
song and the recently adopted guitar. Musicians such as
Intayaden, Abreyboun of Tinariwen, Keddo, Abdallah of Niger and
others sang popular songs that procled the rights and heritage
of the Tuaregs. The style was called "ishoumar" which derives
from the French word "chomeurs" or "unemployed", because Tuaregs
had lost their herds in the drought and were left with no other
means of supporting themselves. Eventually, the term "ishoumar"
became synonymous with "rebels".
In 1990, the first Tuareg rebellion began in Mali and Niger when
Tuareg commandos launched an attack against local and
government offices. The governments fought back, declaring
Tuaregs enemies of the state and forcing many Tuareg's into
exile.
Bombino fled with his her and grandmother to stay near
relatives in Algeria. One day some relatives arrived from the
front lines of the rebellion, carrying with them two guitars that
they left behind for a few months. Bombino began to teach himself
to play the guitars, plucking out notes in imitation of the
ishoumar songs he had heard.
In 1992 and 1993, the regime in Niger was replaced with
a democratically elected government, and numerous political
parties were formed, largely along ethnic lines. A Tuareg party
was formed, and music once again played an important role in
educating the community, this time about the importance of a
democratic system in Niger. While the armed conflict had not
formally ended, Bombino and his family decided to move back to
Agadez.
During a trip to Niamey, Niger for medical , Bombino
met with his uncle Rissa Ixa, a famous Tuareg painter, who gave
him a guitar. Upon returning to Agadez, Bombino joined the Tuareg
political party where he met the best guitarist of the party, a
man named Haja Bebe. He started getting lessons, improving to the
point where Haja Bebe invited him to join his band. It was during
this time that Bombino acquired his nickname. As the youngest and
smallest member of the band, the other members called him
Bombino, a variation on the Italian word for "little child".
On April 24th, 1995, the Niger government signed a peace treaty
with the rebels and Tuaregs were able to move back to Niger.
Around the same time, Bombino got a role as an extra in the
French film Imuhar: A Legend, which was filmed in the nearby
desert. After finishing his work on the film, Bombino settled
into life as working musician, performing at political rallies,
weddings, and other ceremonies.
He fought often with his her, who did not want his son to
become a musician. To escape this problem, Bombino decided to
travel to Algeria and Libya in 1996. In Libya, he made friends
with some local musicians, and they would spend time watching
videos of Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and others
in an effort to master their licks. Bombino was quickly becoming
an accomplished guitarist and was in high demand as a backing
musician. While working as a herder in the desert near Tripoli,
Libya, Bombino spent many hours alone watching the animals and
practicing his guitar.
Eventually, Bombino decided to return to Niger, where he
continued to play with a number of local bands. As his legend
grew, a Spanish documentary film crew helped Bombino record his
first album, which become a local hit on Agadez radio. The
success of the album validated Bombino's choice to make a career
out of music, and he began playing regularly for tourists and
locals alike.
In 2006, Bombino traveled to California with the band Tidawt for
a tour organized by a non-profit organization. During the trip,
he had the chance to record a desert blues version of the Rolling
Stones classic "Hey Negrita" alongside Stones' members Keith
Richards and Charlie Watts. The track appears on the 2008 album
spearheaded by Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Riese entitled
Stone's World: The Rolling Stones Project Volume 2. Later that
year, Bombino served as Angelina Jolie's guide to the Niger
desert region during a weeklong visit. During their time
together, he played her the music of the Tuareg and told her
stories of nomadic life in the Sahara.
In 2007, the second Tuareg rebellion began, and the government
countermeasures were forceful and indiscriminant. Many civilians
were killed and farms and livestock were destroyed in an effort
to quash the rebellion. Instead, the government's hard-handed
tactics only served to galvanize the Tuareg community, and
Bombino and his friends joined the rebellion. Government forces
killed two of Bombino's musicians, so he fled in exile to Burkina
Faso along with many of his fellow Tuaregs.
In 2009, he met filmmaker Ron Wyman who had heard a cassette of
Bombino's music while traveling near Agadez. Wyman was enchanted
by Bombino's music and spent a year seeking him out, eventually
tracking him down to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where Bombino was
living in exile. While there, Wyman decided to feature Bombino in
a documentary he was filming about the Tuareg. Later that year,
he brought Bombino to Cambridge, Massachusetts to begin
the album Agadez in his home studio.
Finally, the Tuaregs put down their arms and were allowed to
return to Niger. In January 2010, Wyman came to Agadez to finish
the album and the film. The sultan of Agadez allowed them to
organize a concert for peace at the base of the Grand Mosque, the
first time such a performance had been permitted. Over a thousand
people came to celebrate the end of the conflict and danced to
the irresistible grooves of Bombino and his band.
Although just thirty years old, Bombino's life and travels have
exposed him to the problems facing his people. He has taken on
the mission of helping the Tuareg community achieve equal rights,
peace, maintain their rich cultural heritage and promote
education. He is an advocate for teaching children the Tuareg
language of Tamasheq, the local Haoussa language as well as
French and Arabic, all of which he speaks fluently. "We fought
for our rights," remarks Bombino, "But we have seen that s are
not the solution. We need to change our system. Our children must
go to school and learn about their Tuareg identity."
Four thousand years of living in a hostile environment taught
the Tuareg that the will to survive with dignity intact is
stronger than any external threat. Bombino puts that sentiment to
music, writes its anthem, and gives it a life of its own. He is
known as being emblematic of the next generation of Tuareg, a new
voice of the Sahara and Sahel, fusing traditional Berber rhythms
with the energy of rock and roll and songs about peace. After
thirty years of drought, rebellion, and tyranny, Bombino extols
his audience to remember who they are, but also realize who they
can be.