"We Will Always Fight for That Freedom": Tinariwen Frontman Ibrahim Ag Alhabib Discusses War-Torn Past Ahead of Nov 16 Tango Gig

Long before Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and his bandmates in Tinariwen won a Grammy, before they collaborated with indie-rock hotshots like Kurt Vile and members of TV on the Radio, and before they helped introduce Tuareg "desert rock" to the world to rave reviews ... before all that, Ag Alhabib built his first guitar with nothing more than a tin can, a stick, and bicycle brake wire.

"We didn’t have the choice, we didn’t have any instruments," Ag Alhabib tells the Beijinger (ahead of Tinariwen's Nov 16 gig at Tango) of his childhood in impoverished exile in Algeria, after he and his fellow Tuareg Muslim minority members fled from a defeated uprising against the government in Mali. Tough as their lives in the Algerian refugee camps were, things were even more difficult during their perilous journey there. However, he recalls how that lead to even greater resourcefulness: "When we had to leave for Algeria, the Malian army gave to each family a water jerrican (jug) for the journey. Some of us used it as a percussion, some of us built guitars out of them. It was a good early training, and I got my style of playing from this."

Like their fellow Tuareg musician Bombino (who will play a separate Beijing show on Dec 12), Tinariwen found a great deal of international success throughout the late 2000s, as record labels provided a greater and greater platform for their blues-infused take on the traditional Saharan music they grew up with, an even greater feat given Ag Alhabib sings all the lyrics in his native Tamasheq tongue. Tinariwen took that approach a step further with their latest LP, Elwan, which popular music blog Pitchfork described in a glowing review as "a collection of tunes that merge West African styles and guitar riffs inspired by American folk forms."

Ag Alhabib says he and his bandmates have been humbled by such worldwide praise, adding: "We are very proud to represent the culture of our people the Tuareg. This is an honor and we are very lucky to be so successful around the world. We must say thank you to the people who are listening to our music."

Among those fans are a veritable who's-who of indie-rock elite, many of whom went on to collaborate with the band. That list includes Kurt Vile on Elwan, Josh Klinghoffer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the band's 2014 album Emmaar, TV on the Radio members Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone on the 2011 LP Tassili, among others. "All of the collaborations were interesting," says Ag Alhabib before adding that, aside from the work, he and the rest of Tinariwen also just "enjoy spending time with our guests. We spent 10 days in the south Algerian desert with Kyp and Tunde. And that was an especially great time because they took more time to understand our culture and our music. That, in turn, better allowed us to understand them."

Aside from inviting other musicians to visit them in Algeria, the members of Tinariwen also revel in the opportunities to go on world tours. This, of courses, comes naturally, given the strong nomadic tradition of the Tuareg society they were raised in. "We were shepherds. We used to travel with our animals across the Sahara to feed them. This is what we want. So, in our music, we will always fight for this freedom," Ag Alhabib says of the intent in Tinariwen's lyrics and music.

And while that yearning for freedom and mobility was always innate in Ag Alhabib and his bandmates, it has by no means been a given. After all, the band could only return to Mali during a ceasefire in 1989, a visit that put an end to 26 years of an exile that they spent in Algeria and Libya. During that trying period, Ag Alhabib and many Tuareg people were recruited by none other than Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, who wanted to train the notoriously tough nomads to be an elite fighting unit that he could dispatch in conflicts across the region. Ag Alhabib met his would-be bandmates in that al-Gaddafi-spearheaded boot camp, spending their downtime writing and recording songs to cassette tape, about the plight of their people.  

Ag Alhabib recalls: "Our choice was always to come back to where we are from, the Azawad region of the north of Mali where the Tuareg from our families used to live. Our music and our lyrics are the voice of our people, so in the '90s we really wanted to try to find a way to live in peace with the Malian administration."

It was a laudable goal that, sadly, wasn't fully realized. In 1990, yet another conflict broke out between the Tuareg people and the Malian government, and some of Ag Alhabib's bandmates partook. Thankfully, another peace deal was brokered the following year, and Ag Alhabib and his bandmates finally laid down their arms for good to focus on music.

Though his most volatile days are behind him, Ag Alhabib says he finds little assurance in the Sahara's current state, not to mention the persisting persecution of Muslims in countless other locales, and the backlash against a new generation of refugees. "Culture and politics demand borders, and they want to control people's movements. This is against our culture," he laments. He hopes that fans can also gain a greater understanding of Tuareg life through the music and from Tinariwen's backstory, learning greater empathy for his fellow refugees and Muslims, while also being inspired by his people's outlook, which is down to earth in every sense of the word.

For instance, "People should live more in connection with nature," he says of one of the life lessons that harsh dessert living has imparted to him. He says that mindset, and others akin to it that Tinariwen attempt to pass on as they continue to play their empowering songs, will hopefully help others forsake greed, rebuke division, herald tradition and also just "understand our real needs. Understand, for instance, that water is life, not money."

Tinariwen will perform at Tango on Nov 16. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are RMB 300, RMB (260 advance). For more information, click here.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos: justamemo.com, theartdesk.com, boisestatepublicradio.org, Green Global Travel