Bombino (musician)
| Bombino | |
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Bombino performing at the Kult in Niederstetten
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Goumar Almoctar |
| Born |
January 1, 1980 Tidene, Niger |
| Genres | Rock, blues, world music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Labels | Cumbancha Discovery, Nonesuch |
| Associated acts | Dan Auerbach David Longstreth |
| Website | www |
Omara "Bombino" Moctar is an internationally acclaimed Tuareg guitarist and singer-songwriter from Agadez, Niger. His music frequently addresses Tuareg geopolitical concerns and is sung in the Tuareg language of Tamasheq. Bombino is the subject of the documentary film Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion.
Bombino was born in 1980 in Tidene, Niger, a Tuareg encampment about 80 kilometers northeast of Agadez. He is a member of the Ifoghas tribe, which belongs to the Kel Air Tuareg federation. Following the outbreak of the Tuareg Rebellion in 1990, Bombino, along with his father and grandmother, were forced to flee to neighboring Algeria for safety. During this time, visiting relatives left behind a guitar, and Bombino began to teach himself how to play. He later studied with renowned Tuareg guitarist, Haja Bebe. Bebe asked him to join his band where he gained the nickname "Bombino", which is derived from the Italian word "bambino", that means 'little child'. While living in Algeria and Libya in his teen years, Bombino and his friends watched videos of Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler and others to learn their styles. He worked as both a musician and a herder in the desert near Tripoli. By 1997, Bombino had returned to Agadez and began life as a professional musician.
Filmmaker Hisham Mayet managed to track down and record Bombino and his electric band Group Bombino in 2007 during a wedding performance. Those recordings, along with several acoustic performances in the 'dry guitar' style, can be heard on the Sublime Frequencies' 2009 release, "Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez, vol. 2." Later in 2007, tensions grew again in Niger and ultimately erupted into another Tuareg Rebellion. The government, hoping to thwart the rebellion in all its forms, banned guitars for the Tuareg, as the instrument was seen as a symbol of rebellion. Bombino remarked in an interview, "I do not see my guitar as a gun but rather as a hammer with which to help build the house of the Tuareg people." Additionally, two of Bombino's fellow musicians were executed, thus forcing him into exile.
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