Tinariwen

Über Tinariwen

Tuareg ensemble formed in 1979 in Libyan refugee camps, and considered the first Tuareg band to plug acoustic desert music into electric guitars. Their members fought as Tuareg rebels in the 1990 Mali insurgency before turning to music full time. Tassili (2011) won the Grammy for Best World Music Album, and the band has spent the 2010s and 2020s touring continuously while northern Mali remains too dangerous to record in. Their existence is itself a political act.