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Ishumar

Toumast

Toumast take the desert blues in an unexpected and radical direction. ‘Ishumar’ (‘Identity’) is a testimony of years of combat and struggle of the Toureg people. These compelling songs of exile and the nomadic life are driven by looping camel-gait rhythms, stinging electric guitar and gutteral call-and-response vocals. Bold touches in production – strings, sax enhance the funky grooves are punctuated by the beautiful, errie voice of female singer Aminatou Goumar.

Lead singer Moussa Ag Keyna who, together with Aminatou and French producer Dan Levy, has created a sublime new African desert sound, but behind that smile, the nomad on his camel hides many problems.

A nomad, who has spent his whole life amongst the compounds of the Sahara desert, is loath to leave. He follows his camels on the quest to find water, he tends his animals whilst absorbed in song, he wraps his face in the turban that protects him from the harsh desert sands. This is the life he has always known, a life he doesn’t want to leave behind. But political persecution and drought are destroying this existence. Moussa Ag Keyna was driven from the struggle of liberation by injury to France where he changed his gun for a guitar.

Despite the pain and sadness in the songs, there is also a passion for the desert that emerges through the lively rhythm, the vibrant melody and an irresistible pop sensibility.

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Ishumar at realworldrecords.com
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