What does Etran Finatawa mean?
It translates into English as ‘Stars of tradition’; it means that we are the keepers of both Tuareg and Wodaabe traditions. We ensure that, while all around us changes, we try hardest to remember our culture.
Could you explain a little about the Tuareg and Wodaabe people?
I am a Tuareg. Both peoples are nomadic and live in the desert with their animals. We love freedom, we love nature and we are very attached to our cultures and way of life. We believe we look after ourselves very well. We keep our traditions.
Are both peoples still nomadic?
There are still many nomadic groups in Africa who still tend animals and hold on to the traditional way of life. However, for many this is changing due to economic and climatic changes. Many now have had to move to the big towns to maintain their families. I myself live in a town with my family and my children who go to school there but I, like many of my tribe’s people, am always longing to go back to the desert. That’s where our real home and roots are.
Etran Finatawa’s music has been dubbed ‘desert blues’, along with the likes of Tinariwen. Do you see your music as blues in the Western sense?
We all play the blues! But our music is traditional and it is from the heart. We don’t know what other people call it, but they listen to our music and tell us that’s what it is. The sound is attached to the desert, it’s coming from the air and the sky. It’s all about freedom. It’s like a journey when you listen to it. When you hear it, you are in the desert.
Etran Finatawa, Stage North, Fri 24, 10pm with a Taste the World session at 7pm
