Bombino (musician)
Bombino ⴱⵓⵎⴱⵉⵏⵓ | |
---|---|
Tuareg music | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Labels | Cumbancha Discovery, Nonesuch, Partisan |
Website | www |
Omara "Bombino" Moctar (in
Biography
Youth and musical beginnings
Bombino was born in 1980 in Tidene,
Recordings and unrest in Niger
Filmmaker Hisham Mayet managed to track down and record Bombino and his electric band
International career, and return home
Bombino then joined Tidawt, a band by Nigerien musician Hasso Akotey, which led to his first time in North America as the band was brought to perform in an exhibit of Tuareg art organized by the
In January 2010, Bombino was able to return to his home in Agadez. To celebrate the end of the conflict, a large concert was organized at the base of the Grand Mosque in Agadez, having received the blessing of the Sultan. Bombino and his band played to over a thousand people at the concert, all dancing and celebrating the end of their struggle. The footage was also recorded for a documentary, Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion.[9]
While Bombino lived in exile in Burkina Faso, filmmaker Ron Wyman, having heard cassette recordings of his music, decided to track him down. Wyman encouraged Bombino to properly record his music. Bombino agreed, and the two of them, with the help of Chris Decato, produced an album together in Agadez. The recordings culminated in his album Agadez, released in April 2011. Agadez debuted at the top of the iTunes World Chart.[10]
The success of Agadez attracted many musical stars to Bombino including
On April 1, 2016, Bombino released Azel. It was produced by David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors Pitchfork's Andy Beta notes that the record "features a sublime iteration of desert blues that's both authentic and ambitious."[15]
For his sixth studio album, Deran, Bombino recorded in Casablanca at Studio HIBA, a recording studio owned by the king of Morocco. In May 2018, ahead of the album's release, the music blog, Noisey, called Bombino "the World's Best Guitarist™."[16] Then, on the day before Deran's release, Bombino was dubbed "the Sultan of Shred" by The New York Times,[17] a nickname that was then adopted by several news outlets around the world. Deran was officially released on May 18, 2018, and was received with widespread acclaim for both its musicality and its embracement of culture and heritage. Jason Heller of NPR wrote that Bombino's performance on the album "speaks and breathes across centuries."[18] Deran was nominated in the category of Best World Music Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[19] Bombino is the first Nigerien artist to be nominated for a Grammy award.[20]
In 2021, Bombino released Live in Amsterdam, and in 2023, he released Sahel, both on Partisan Records.[21]
Discography
- 2009 – Group Bombino – Guitars from Agadez, vol. 2 (Sublime Frequencies)
- 2010 – Agamgam 2004 (Reaktion)
- 2011 – Agadez (Cumbancha)
- 2013 – Nomad (Nonesuch)
- 2016 – Azel (Partisan)
- 2017 – "La Sombra" by Residente (guest performance)[22]
- 2018 – Deran (Partisan)
- 2020 – Live In Amsterdam (Partisan)
- 2023 – Sahel (Partisan)
References
- ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (24 March 2013). "First Listen: Bombino, 'Nomad'". NPR.org. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Bombino Biography". Cumbancha.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Bombino's New Album Nomad Due April 2nd". Cumbancha.com. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ a b c "Guitarist Bombino, a Taureg exile from Africa, brings his music to Oakland and Santa Cruz". Mercurynews.com. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ Ardaiolo, Michael (29 January 2009). "Dusted Reviews: Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez, Vol. 2". Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Interview with Bombino: 'I envied Jimi Hendrix's freedom'". artistxite.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ Turner, Jill (10 February 2010). "Bombino gets European release for his album Agadez on Cumbancha". GondwanaSound.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Conversa com Bombino". Veja (in Portuguese). 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Bombino: Niger's Tuareg guitar hero". The Guardian. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ Heselgrave, Doug (8 February 2011). "Silk and Sandpaper – new music from the desert". NoDepression.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Nonesuch to Release New Album from Tuareg Guitarist/Singer Bombino in Early 2013". Nonesuch.com. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Bonnaroo Bio". Bonnaroo.com. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- JSTOR 26368587.
- ^ "Bombino Official Tour Dates". bombinomusic.com. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ "Bombino: Azel Album Review – Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ Lipez, Zachary (6 March 2018). "Bombino, the World's Best Guitarist™, Shares New Song "Tehigren"". Noisey.
- ^ Rubin, Mike (17 May 2018). "How Bombino Became the Sultan of Shred". The New York Times.
- ^ Heller, Jason (10 May 2018). "'Deran' Returns To Bombino's Roots". National Public Radio.
- ^ "2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominations List". Grammy.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Lang, Audrey (10 January 2019). "Bombino, the First Nigerien Artist to Be Nominated For a Grammy". Okayafrica.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Geiger, Amy. "Bombino announces LP 'Sahel' & tour, shares "Aitma"". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (20 January 2017). "Residente Chases His Muse, at the Genetic Level". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
Further reading
- Martin, Erica (5 December 2017). "Tuareg Guitarist Bombino on Reggae, Translation and His 5-City China Tour". That's PRD.
External links