Back in the ’80s, there were only two major Tuareg guitar bands. One of them was Tinariwen from Mali, the other was Takrist Nakal from Niger. And the leader of Takrist Nakal was named Abdallah ag Oumbadougou.
Now, for the first time, a compilation of his songs is being released on vinyl by Petaluma Records. The two-LP set features songs from Oumbadougou’s albums along with outtakes and demos. It’s the sound of guns and dust, of mudbrick buildings baking in the heat, of the mosque at twilight.