TAKAAT began (and still operate) as the rhythm section to Mdou Moctar, the breakout Nigerien rock band named for its charismatic frontman. This puts Ahmoudou Madassane (guitar/vocals), bassist Mikey Coltun (the sole American in the group), and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim in the same realm as Calexico. That indie band started out as part of alt-country weirdos Giant Sand, but TAKAAT aren’t seeking to branch out from or expand the sound of their parent outfit. They might have more in common with one of Bob Weir’s non-Dead outfits. Like Weir, Madassane has had to invent his own method of playing rhythm guitar to accommodate a brilliant, dynamic leader–and when that leader’s not in the picture, there’s a lot of space left to fill. 

On their debut EP, Is Noise, Vol.1, the trio finds plenty of unusual sounds to plug that void while also sticking to familiar ground. Opener “Amidin” (as with Mdou Moctar, all song titles and lyrics are in Tamashek) thunders ahead with the hard-charging, asymmetrical gallop that drives many Mdou Moctar burners. Madassane sings in the chantlike, circular style of other Tuareg bands such as Etran De L’Air and Tinariwen; it’s melodic but unvarying. Unaccompanied, his vocals could be a funeral lament or a rapturous prayer. Backed by TAKAAAT’s ecstatic yet precise rhythms and percussive heft, they become something both guttural and spiritual, equally meditative and feral.