There is something about the vast openness of the desert that translates so easily from culture to culture, from the pungent sands of the Thar desert in India’s Rajasthan to the untamed Sahara of Mali’s fabled city of Timbuktu.
The innovative Amarrass Desert Music Festival of 2011, recorded in the shadow of New Delhi’s ancient Siri Fort, captures both the quiet contemplation of Madou Sidiki Diabaté’s kora music, and the boisterous celebration of the Barmer Boys’ roots-infused Sufi music. That all these styles come from the same sandy roots is clear in the final track, when Diabate, Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré and Rajasthani masters Lakha Khan, Dane Khan and the Barmer Boys take the stage together for one last jam.
The album features 8 tracks from two days of the festival recordings made on November 26 and 27, 2011 in New Delhi, India.