Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a band from Mali whose true life story continues to be an endlessly fascinating saga in and of itself. Their music is based on the traditional music of the Kel Tamasheq (the Tuareg people), of the Sahara Desert, and crosses over to western blues and rock music to create an organic hybrid. It is mostly driven by guitars, accompanied by an electric bass, a goblet style hand drum, hand claps, and call/response style backing vocals where a line first sung by the lead singer is echoed back by the chorus. There are also occasional outbursts of ululation. The band's core line up contains some talented songwriters and remarkable musicians, including the two leads, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, with his masterful electric guitar and that sounds like leather left in the desert sun all day, and Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni, with his equally brilliant acoustic guitar and commanding voice. They sing in their native Tamasheq.