Amidinine – Etran de L’Air

They’re back! And probably will be in the future too. Etran De L’air continues to blow me away. The family band (brothers and cousins) from Agadez, Niger, in West Africa, has been playing for over 25 years and is a star on the Nigerien wedding circuit. Their music is a celebration of their culture, and to me, an expression of joy. I have no idea what the lyrics mean; their songs just make me happy.

Infectious groove would be a good way to describe “Amidinine“. I often write these blog posts during downtime or during my lunch break, and with the recent addition of stand-up desks at work, I caught myself about 3 times dancing involuntarily to this tune.

The lyrics, (roughly) translated, are bittersweet, and certainly take a different tone than the instrumentation. I particularly love the drumming in this song.

My friend who I love has left me restless and nostalgic My friend in life, please remember all the time we spent together and the memories we made Life is nothing but a fleeting breeze, a day will come where we’ll both be gone

Audio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeSokM5lz0U

Live (left handed drummer, right handed kit) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9c-fDX5x10