The Sahara Desert region is nearly as big as the continental U.S.A. A vast, hot, often harsh place, it runs through ten African countries with numerous artistic and musical cultures contained within each. This
Rough Guide
collection features 14 tracks from various popular African artists who offer some of the best of what the Saharan region has to offer. From the earthy "Wodaabe Blues" of Niger's
Bammo Agonla
and
Tankari
to the sunny, percussive melodies and rap of "Ya Salam" by Sudanese combo
Emmanuel Jal
Abdel Gadir Salim
, this collection paints a portrait of a diverse and vibrant place. Nigerian guitar band
Etran Finatawa
open the album with one of the standout tracks, "Kel Tamasheck," and the first disc concludes with the rhythmic, horn-led "Samara" by Egyptian/Sudanese act
Salamat
, who combine Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences with African. As with most of the modern
editions,
Music of the Sahara
includes a bonus disc dedicated to a single artist, which is this case is Niger's
Mamane Barka
, master of the West African instrument the biram. ~ Timothy Monger