With North African guitarist Omara Mochtar, a.k.a. Bombino, currently on the run from repressive government forces in Niger, this debut album of his acoustic and electric playing in the Tuareg style remains the lone document of his mastery. And what an incandescent display! Between the handclaps of “Tenere” and “Imuhar,” one can even make out camels grunting their approval on the acoustic first side. The second, recorded live, features raw, stomping grooves (“Boghassa”) and a closer (“Eronafene Tihoussayene”) that works toward a trance-inducing dervish of chords and rebel yells.
