Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Tinariwen (Mali) |
Musiques d'Afrique Musiques du Mali |
Tinariwen is a group of young touaregs from the very north of Mali.
The band was set up in 1982, in a time where the touareg, berber related nomads from the desert of
Mali, Algerie, Niger and Libya, were faced with droughts, unemployment but also oppression by
national governments. In Mali, this oppression was especially strong, and many young touaregs fled in
exile to Algeria and Libya. This situation ended in a rebellion in the early 1990s, until the new democratic
regime in Mali came to an agreement with the touaregs. In this universe of exile and rebellion,
Tinariwen was created by young musicians originary from the town of Kidal and its surroundings (Adrar des Ifoghas). The music of Tinariwen is a mix of traditional touareg music with various (foreign) influences, both from the West and from the Middle-East. At the time, their music was new because of the use of the guitar. The songs are about being in exile, living in precarity, about resistance, but also about love. Through contacts with the French group Lo'Jo and British producer Justin Adams, Tinariwen has received considerable media attention and concert opportunities in the western world over the last years. Created: 1982 as Taghreft Tinariwen (=the building of nations) Style: Tishoumaren/ guitar. Musicians of Tinariwen: Ibrahim Ag Alhabib: guitar, vocals; Alhousseini Abdoulahi dit Abdallah: guitar, vocals; Alassane Touhami dit Abin-Abin: guitar, percussion, vocals; Eyadou Ag Leche: guitar, vocals; Said Ag Ayad: percussion; Wounnou Wallet Oumar: vocals, percussion; Mina Wallet Oumar: vocals, percussion; |
Title | Year | Label | Remarks |
Aman Iman | 2007 | Az / Universal Music | UK: Independiente ISOM65CD (with slightly altered tracklist) |
Amassakoul | 2004 | Triban Union/ Independent IRL 014 | Also released on Wrasse Records WRASS 125 and on Universal Music (2004) |
The Radio Tisdas Session | 2001 | Wayward 703 | Also: World Village Music (2002) |
Tenere | 1992 | Cassette |