The Fabulous Spiegletent
Sydney
Australia
Les Filles de Illighadad are Niger’s only women-led band showcasing
the haunting, minimalist desert blues of Tuareg guitar folk, traditionally
played by men.
Hailing from a remote rural village near the edge of the Sahara, the trio
take the women’s music of the region, tende – characterised by vocal
harmonies, ululations and goat skin drum percussion – and reinterpret it
as western-rock influenced Tuareg blues: hypnotic guitar lines,
divine multi-part harmonies, handclaps and simple, driving rhythms.
Band members Fatou Seidi Ghali, Alamnou Akrouni and Madassane Ahmoudou
have journeyed a long way from their origins tending livestock in the
remote Nigerian village of Illighadad. These days they’re recording albums
and touring the world to share the sublime sounds of the Sahara.
“Fantastic stuff, sturdy, gorgeous and indelible” – Dusted Magazine