Etran De L’Aïr

If you’re throwing a party in the Sahara, you’d better have music. A wedding, baptism, or political event would be unthinkable – dead in the water – without a band.  And, if you’re in the mountainous regions of Niger, Etran de L’Aïr is the group you want to hire.

The band is from Agadez, an urban centre in the Sahara renowned for the ‘desert blues’ guitar style popularized by bands such as Tinariwen and Bombino. Etran de L’Aïr (etran means ‘stars’, and Agadez is the capital of “Aïr”, one of the traditional Tuareg–Berber federations) is a family collective founded in 1995 by Aghaly Migi, a guitarist who trained his younger brothers and cousins to play so they could be part of the group.

In the early days, electricity was virtually non-existent in Agadez, opportunities for amplification were rare, and the group had to rely on an acoustic guitar and a calabash floating in water to achieve their sound. Over the years as electricity came to the region, they began to incorporate the rock, soul, reggae and funk they heard on radio into their repertoire, adapting it to the rhythmic exchanges between the group’s three guitars. 

The result is a joyous energy that is truly intoxicating to experience. 

Now we’re throwing a big get-together in the park, and Etran de L’Aïr will be there. Join us.

– DH