Bombino, who is currently touring the US with his "electrifying" show (A.V. Club), has made NPR Music's list of its 25 Favorite Albums of the Year (So Far) for his Nonesuch debut album, Nomad. "Full of undeniably hypnotic trance-guitar music, and produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Nomad rocks like no other record this year," writes NPR Music's Bob Boilen. "Hearing Bombino in any American nightclub, the reaction is ecstasy and complete connection ... It's blues, it's trance and it's psychedelic in its repetition. Oh, and did I mention it rocks?" Bombino tells New York magazine: "There are two kinds of music in the desert. If it makes you want to listen to it, it’s the blues. If it makes you want to move, it’s rock.”
Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Omara "Bombino" Moctar is currently touring the United States in support of his Nonesuch Records debut album, Nomad, making stops in Minneapolis and Madison before heading south for the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee this weekend. The A.V. Club, reviewing his recent performance opening for Gogol Bordello in Milwaukee as "electrifying." For tour details, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
Bombino's new album, Nomad, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, was met with great critical acclaim upon its release in April, not least from NPR, whose All Things Considered reviewer Banning Eyre described it as "a landmark in African rock music," and whose NPR Music contributor Anastasia Tsioulcas called it "alluring on a global scale." Now, as 2012 has reached its half-way point, NPR Music has chosen its 25 Favorite Albums of the Year (So Far) and includes Bombino's Nomad on the list.
"Full of undeniably hypnotic trance-guitar music ..., Nomad rocks like no other record this year," writes NPR Music's Bob Boilen. "Hearing Bombino in any American nightclub, the reaction is ecstasy and complete connection; though he studied with a skilled Tuareg guitarist and sings in Tamashek, there's an inevitable sense of familiarity in his music. It's blues, it's trance and it's psychedelic in its repetition. Oh, and did I mention it rocks?"
Read more, hear the album track "Amidinine," and see the complete list of NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums of the Year (So Far) at npr.org.
As Bombino's tour winds its way back north after Bonnaroo, he and his band will make a stop in Brooklyn's Prospect Park to perform on a double bill with Amadou & Mariam for Celebrate Brooklyn! In advance of the show, Bombino is the subject of a feature article in the latest issue of New York magazine. In the article, the magazine's Justin Davidson examines Bombino's roots in Niger and the surrounding countries and the impact of political unrest and rebellion on his life and his music.
“Music has no borders,” Bombino tells Davidson. “In that area, so many cultures have gotten mixed together, and each generation brings a new cultural evolution ... There are two kinds of music in the desert. If it makes you want to listen to it, it’s the blues. If it makes you want to move, it’s rock.”
There's much more in the article, which you can read at nymag.com.
To pick up a copy of Nomad, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.
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