Tinariwen

Assouf

Tinariwen are a collective of Tuareg musicians associated with Tamanrasset in Algeria and Tessalit in northern Mali. The name is Tamasheq for deserts, the plural of ténéré. Ibrahim Ag Alhabib founded the group in 1979 on English Wikipedia's account, though French Wikipedia says 1982, and The Quietus lists a different set of founders; the line-up is fluid by design. The band's own word for the music is assouf, which the bassist Eyadou Ag Leche compares to saudade and fado, a kind of nostalgia. In 1980 members took nine months of military training in Libya under Gaddafi, and some joined the Tuareg rebellion in 1990 before leaving it for music after the Tamanrasset Accords in January 1991.

Kel Tinariwen was recorded at JBZ Studios in Abidjan around 1991. Manny Ansar became their manager in 1993, and in 1998 they met Lo'Jo and Philippe Brix; the first Festival au Desert in 2001 coincided with The Radio Tisdas Sessions (August 6, 2001, Wayward), their first release outside North Africa, recorded at Radio Tisdas in Kidal, Mali. Amassakoul (October 12, 2004) followed, with a UK debut at Africa Oye in Liverpool and Glastonbury that year. They won the BBC Award for World Music in 2005, the Praetorius Music Prize in 2008, and for Tassili (August 29, 2011, Anti-), recorded in the Tassili n'Ajjer park near Djanet, the Grammy for Best World Music Album in 2012.

Aman Iman: Water Is Life (March 13, 2007) was produced by Justin Adams at Bogolan Studios in Bamako, reportedly in about two weeks. Elwan (February 10, 2017, Anti- and Epitaph) was recorded at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, near M'hamid El Ghizlane in Morocco and in Paris, with guests Kurt Vile, Matt Sweeney, Alain Johannes and Mark Lanegan. Later records are Amadjar (2019, recorded around Nouakchott, Mauritania), Amatssou (May 19, 2023, produced remotely by Daniel Lanois), Idrache (November 2024) and Hoggar (March 13, 2026, with José González and Sulafa Elyas).

In the 2012 rebellion in northern Mali Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Elaga Ag Hamid could not leave the country for WOMADelaide, and in January 2013 Abdallah Ag Lamida was abducted by Ansar Dine while trying to save guitars and was later released. Carlos Santana, Robert Plant, Bono, Thom Yorke and Brian Eno are among their admirers, and Imarhan, Kel Assouf and Tamikrest are among the bands that followed them.