Elwan
Tinariwen
(Wedge)
Four stars
One of the more unlikely chart trends of this year could well be protest music, as normally placid pop and rock stars become more politically engaged.
For Tinariwen, however, protest songs have always come with the territory. Such is the enduring turmoil in the band's homeland – the Saharan region of Mali – that their recordings are invariably powered by tumultuous events. Latest album Elwan is no exception.
Pioneers of the Tuareg rock movement, Tinariwen were founded to express Tuareg freedom, which was eroded significantly when Mali’s militant Ansar Dine regime arose in 2012. Popular music was denounced, one of Tinariwen’s guitarists was abducted and the band were forced into exile.
That situation shaped their previous album, Emmaar (2014), the first recorded outside Mali. Tinariwen now utilise a rather different desert studio: Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, California, which usually welcomes major rock stars seeking an authentically desolate environment.
Tinariwen, in contrast, bleed authenticity, and their seventh album was clearly as much about catharsis as a call to arms.
That distant cry can still be forceful. The chant-heavy track Assàwt (The Voice of Tamasheq Women) is "a message for those who toil for the revolution", but elsewhere, anguished resignation reigns. Elwan means "the elephants" in Tinariwen's native language, Tamashek, and here those mighty beasts symbolise dangerous forces.
On the sorrowful Ténéré Tàqqàl (What has Become of the Desert People), they "fight each other, crushing tender grass underfoot … many have died battling for twisted ends. And joy has abandoned us".
Indeed, the album's recurring theme supports a truth lost to many migrant-fearing commentators: that most refugees just yearn to return home. Particularly affecting is Ittus (Our Goal), which dreams of "the unity of our nation", but is recorded so starkly, it suggests a man lost in an unfamiliar desert with just a guitar.
Tinariwen welcome some notable company here, as one benefit of enforced exile is the opportunity to work with more western fans. Two fine rockers of different generations, Mark Lanegan and Kurt Vile, offer a splash of Americana to the moodily mesmerising Nànnuflày (Fulfilled), while acclaimed guitarists Matt Sweeney and Alain Johannes keep the desert rock heavy on Talyat (Girl).
This increasingly nomadic band also borrowed a studio in Morocco, adding Berber trance musicians into Elwan’s evocative mix.
Tinariwen’s cross-cultural dynamic remains a distinctive, hugely positive cross-border collaboration. Musically at least, the enforced relocation would appear to have added fresh energy. Long may they rock and roam.
artslife@thenational.ae
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
INDIA%20SQUAD
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Company%C2%A0profile
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The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
1.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winners: Hyde Park, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
2.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
2.45pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Shadwell Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 (TB) Dh575,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Blown by Wind, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
3.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh72,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh64,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Obeyaan, Adrie de Vries, Mujeeb Rehman
4.45pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Company%20profile
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Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
