Bombino (June 6, 2013)

Guitarist Bombino's performance at a wedding in the desert city of Agadez, Niger, six years ago was, in some ways, a typical job. Then 27, he had been playing music since childhood and toured globally as a member of the band Tidawt. But this gig became a big step in Bombino's movement toward rock stardom.

Group Bombino's scorching set was recorded for "Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2" (Sublime Frequencies). His raw guitar sound features fast tempos and distortion that give way to intertwined melodies. He then attracted more international fans, including filmmakers and other musicians. Bombino recently released "Nomad" (Nonesuch), which Black Keys drummer Dan Auerbach produced. The path from performing in the Sahara to recording in a Nashville, Tenn., studio for a major label was just one of his circuitous journeys.

Early on, Bombino (aka Omara Moctar) endured conflict and exile. His people, the Tuaregs, had rebelled against the government of Niger, and brutal reprisals followed.

"The Tuaregs at that time (early 1990s) were not being treated fairly," Bombino said in French through a translator. "Our lands were in the north, where there is uranium, but we were not getting the benefits of this resource. Our communities felt alienated from the rest of the country."

Bombino found a guitar and learned traditional melodies while living with relatives in Algeria. He practiced as he tended his family's livestock.

"I did not aspire to be a musician as a child," Bombino said. "That began when I was about 12 or 13 when I was learning about music with my cousins in Algeria. I was pulled naturally to the guitar; only God knows why."

A mid-'90s peace between the government and the Tuaregs meant that Bombino could return to Niger. He worked with bandleader Haja Bebe, and the group gave the young musician his nickname (Italian for "child"). Bombino continued traveling across North Africa. Friends in Libya showed him videos of an influential American guitarist.

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"Watching Jimi Hendrix play was magical," he said. "It was like his guitar was a part of his body, and the rest of the world melted away when he was playing. I wanted to feel that power, freedom and excitement from music."

That rock influence makes Bombino's style distinctive from other Tuareg bands, such as Mali's Tinariwen. Bombino also has his own approach in adapting North African musical phrases to different instruments.

"With an electric guitar I can hold a note for a long time and play with the sound more easily than with an acoustic," Bombino said. "With an acoustic I'm playing more notes and more swiftly. And on electric I like to hold the notes for a long time and repeat a figure, because each time the melody gets stronger."

After "Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2" was released in 2009, fighting erupted between the Tuaregs and Niger's government. Bombino left for Burkina Faso, and documentarian Ron Wyman brought him to Massachusetts to begin recording "Agadez" (Cumbancha). The album was completed in Niger in 2010 after a peace accord.

"We are a respected part of the nation now," Bombino said. "Even the prime minister (Brigi Rafini) is Tuareg."

With this improved situation, Bombino has an easier time traveling, including recording "Nomad." On this disc, American drums, keyboards and pedal steel guitar are added to Bombino's pieces.

"Dan would ask me if it was OK to try a keyboard on this song or a lap steel on that song, and I would say, 'OK, let's see how it sounds,'" Bombino said. "It's important to have an open mind, or your music never evolves."

Similarly, Bombino's lyrics, especially the calls for unity on "Imuhar" and "Adinat," combine a Tuareg and global perspective.

"These songs were written with the struggles of the Tuareg of Niger in my heart," Bombino said. "I also try to make my songs open, so that anyone can feel like the song is speaking to their struggles, whatever they are."

: 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Martyrs, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $16 (21+); 773-404-9494 or