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Mali

TINARIWEN means in the language of the Touareg 'deserted places' and reflects their heritage as nomads in the Sahara desert. TINARIWEN make rebel music in the true meaning of the word - in fact a first formation of the band was founded in one of Ghadaffi's rebel camps in Lybia, they took part in the Touareg rebellions in Mali.

On their fender guitars they play the desert blues, that speaks of loneliness, the loss of comrades in battle, of their life in exile and the disappointment after the return. For the most parts they have replaced the traditional Touareg instrumentation by electric guitars, diverse influences ranging from Rock to Bob Marley melt with the old Touareg melodies. It comes as no surprise that they are sometimes referred to as 'The Rolling Stones of the Sahara' by the press.

After 25 years of existence, and after the huge international success of their last album AMAN IMAN: Water is Life (Independiente 2007) IMIDIWAN: Companions, is the band's fourth CD release and it possesses all the elements that have made them so magnetic to western ears: raw simplicity, melodic beauty, songs ranging from the epic and universal to the intimate and personal.

In the past eight years they have continued their steady ascent playing over 700 concerts in Europe, shared stage with Santana on Montreux Jazz Festival 2006, were support for The Rolling Stones in 2007 and played this year's Glastonbury Festival. Along the way they have picked up a number of awards (BBC Award for World Music in 2005 and the prestigious Praetorius Music Prize in Germany in 2008) and a raft of ‘legendary' fans including the likes of Robert Plant, Carlos Santana, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke, TV on the Radio and Bono & the Edge.

NEW CD: Tassili (V2/Cooperative Music September 2011)

"Tinariwen have created one of the most distinctive, extraordinary and irresistible sounds in modern music, and they are sensibly not veering away from it." [The Sunday Times UK, 2009]

"Although having a sexy, AK-toting backstory as Tuareg rebels ensured pleny of titilatting press, what really endeared them to such a broad diaspora of fans (from classic rock aficionados to exceedingly stoned hipsters) is their incredible live presence, the vibrancy of which is adequately captured on this new release." [Time Out]

 "..a timely reminder of how thrilling rock music can be when you have little inkling of what it's   going to do next [..] this is simply outstanding music - no "world" caveat required."   [The Word]

"There are a couple of tracks where these guitar players from Mali play these amazing riffs. So I copied their style and improvised for 10 minutes and then just randomly recorded bits until I captured something of what they were doing."     [Thom Yorke form Radiohead talking about his solo album The Eraser in Mojo Magazine]