The Nomadic Impulse In Imarhan’s Music At Sound In Focus Is Kinetic

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Imarhan are an Algerian band of Tuareg heritage that have helped add to the solid cadre of musicians coming out of North Africa the last several years. If you’re a KCRW head or your spotify is dialed to the right algorithm, you may have come across Imarhan or Tinariwen or Songhoy Blues Band. All of them have a similar irresistible sound that blends traditional North African / Malian rhythms with varying degrees of 70’s global soul and modern rock and pop.

The percussion and repeating guitar riffs create a steady yet rhythmic velocity while the lead singer’s voice remains steady, calm, super chill and relaxed over the kinetic energy of the percussion section. Not to get all romantic about it but I think you really do feel the momentum of a nomadic impulse in Imarhan’s music. The sense that a true nomad moves because it’s an inextricable part of who and what you are. It’s a culture and lifestyle that one is born into or drawn towards.

In juxtaposition to the REFUGEE exhibit, Imarhan’s music begs the question of what role nomadism plays in modernity. As the global economy forces us to urbanize and centralize, the space for a true nomadic culture shrinks. Yet as so many parts of the world destabilize politically and economically, our existence becomes increasingly mobile if not outright transient. The traditional rhythmic fingerprints at the core of Imarhan are both preserving and yet eulogizing the loss of certain aspects of their way of life while providing a very new sound for defining and meditating on the conditions of our collective existence in a rapidly shifting modernity.

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CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THIS YEARS SOUND IN FOCUS CONCERT SERIES