Until the moment he walked on stage, Othmani Mbarek Baly had had a rotten couple of days. Along with three generations of his family, from his 74-year-old mother through to his sisters and daughter, he had flown to London from his home down in southern Algeria, way out in the Sahara desert. On arrival, he found that half of their luggage, including many of their instruments, had gone missing. The show was delayed as frantic checks were made with the airport, but in the end he came on stage armed only with his oud - the Arabic lute - while the seven other family members had only two small hand drums between them.
It could have been a disaster, but this was a one of the most exhilarating African shows of the year, and an encouraging start to the South Bank Rhythm Sticks Festival. Baly and his family are Touaregs, who for centuries have moved across theSahara, from Algeria and Mauritania to Mali, Niger and beyond. They came on stage as if entering a tent in the Sahara, with the men partially veiled, the women in headscarves, and Baly wearing the indigo-dyed robe that gives the Touaregs their name, "the blue men". They sat barefoot and cross-legged, and Baly began to improvise around a bluesy riff on the oud, spurred on by hand-clapping from the women. He apologised that he could speak no English, and added "Welcome to the desert", in French.
He then demonstrated what could be done with the oud, vocals and inspired DIY percussion, first with repeated rhythmic instrumental phrases that at times echoed the desert blues of guitarist Ali Farka Toure. He then showed off his soulful vocals on line-and-response songs that were remarkably accessible for a Western audience. These could have been folk-blues melodies if it hadn't been for the Arabic edge of the women singers, and the remarkable percussion. At first he relied on hand-claps from the women, including his mother. Then his two male companions added increasingly elaborate rhythms on the hand drums, and Baly began to add in anything from rapid-fire high strummed notes to bursts of frantic free-form improvisation.
Much Touareg music is traditionally performed by women - a reflection of the freedom and power they have within society - but Baly made these songs his own. As his stirring but hypnotic improvisations developed, he encouraged the audience to add in yet more hand-clapping. He deserved the standing ovations that followed many of his songs. The billing for The Touaregs of Algeria was misleading: Othmani Mbarek Baly was the undisputed star.
