Tinariwen

10 albums and over 45 years into their storied career, Tuareg musical pioneers and Grammy-winners Tinariwen are returning to their roots. Fierce advocates for their people’s nomadic culture that exists in the desert borderlands between Mali and Algeria, Tinariwen’s bluesy, guitar-driven music has found global acclaim over the past two decades for its lively blend of Tamasheq-language politicism, syncopated rhythms and soaring melody.

On Hoggar, their tenth album, they now stake their claim as elders of this Tuareg musical tradition, going back to their early years of songwriting with acoustic guitars and communal singing around the desert campfire, while also passing the torch onto a younger generation of featured musicians who can continue to keep the flame of rebellion and defiance alive.

Typically choosing to record their albums among the arid flatness of the Central Saharan desert and tuning into the sounds of nature as they find their melodies, recent years and the political unrest in Mali have seen the band forced to find new locations for their creativity. Founding members of the band have relocated to Algeria and when it came to making their tenth record, they found a new home in a studio set up by younger Tuareg band Imarhan in the southern city of Tamanrasset.

Co-presented with MODO-Live