Tinariwen
(Mali)

Djembe
Biography
Tinariwen is a group of young Touaregs from the very north of Mali, and the south of Algeria. The band was set up in 1982, in a time when the Touareg, Berber related nomads from the desert of Mali, Algeria, 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 reached an agreement with the Touaregs, which turned out not as enduring as hoped for. In this universe of exile and rebellion, Tinariwen was created by young musicians originating 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 years.




Tinariwen - Album Tassili
  Tinariwen - Album Tassili
• 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;



Created: 1982 as Taghreft Tinariwen (=the building of nations)
Style: Tishoumaren / desert Blues




Discography
Title Year Label Remarks
Amatssou 2023 Wedge WEDGECD0123
Amadjar 2019 Anti- Records
Elwan 2017 Wedge US: Anti- Records
Live in Paris 2015 Wedge US: Anti- Records
Emmaar 2014 Wedge US: Anti- Records
Tassili 2011 V2 Music US: Anti- Records
Imidiwan: Companions 2009 Az UK: Independiente
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
The Radio Tisdas Session 2001 Wayward 703 Also: World Village Music (2002)
Tenere 1992 EMI Mali K7 S.A. Cassette

Page added May 2004