Tuareg desert poets turned international rock stars Tinariwen will perform at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire at 7pm on 12th December.

“Listening to Tinariwen is like dropping a bucket into a deep well.”, Robert Plant.

Tickets:  £19.50 To buy tickets click HERE.

Location:  Shepherds Bush Empire, Shepherds Bush Green. For map click HERE

Nearest Tubes: Hammersmith and City Line - Shepherd’s Bush or Goldhawk Road and Central Line - Shepherd’s Bush.

To listen to Tinariwen and for links and video clip at the end of the article click
Tinariwen were formed by guitarist and singer Ibrahim Ag Al Habib in the late 1970’s after a period of droughts which decimated cattle herds and forced large numbers of Tuareg to the southern deserts of Algeria.

The story of Tinariwen is as incredible as their sound, 20 or so years after being formed Tinariwen hit fame and they haven’t stopped.

Tinariwen is the plural of Ténéré, the Tamashek (Tuareg language) word for desert, and their music conjures the hardship, the fellowship and the solace of the desert.  Their distinctive blues/rock guitar, gritty lyrics of pain, frustration and the longing for home is the rebellious voice of the exiled generation of Tuareg youth. - Click the ‘play’ button below.

Assouf:
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Ibrahim Ag Al Habib had always been fascinated with music and the guitar, constructing his own from a tin can, a stick and bicycle brake wire, playing Tuareg tunes to his own lyrics.  Ibrahim was influenced by the role models, and their fusion of blues guitar with Malian music, fellow Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré, who enjoyed phenomenal international success, and Boubacar Taroré, who wasn’t ‘discovered’ until 1987.

During the 80’s, the nucleus of present day Tinariwen played for the social events of the Tuareg community.  This community had been forced out of the desert by the ‘73 and ‘85 droughts and were now finding work in the cities, forced to confront a modern world.

Tinariwen’s appeal and magic was the combination of modern sound with Tuareg tradition, the poets of the desert whose souls drew succour from the wide open spaces and inspirational blues music, represented something to aspire to, a realistic alternative to the alien unattainable ‘glamour’ of US/European music and styles viewed on TV.

Like many of their brethren, Tinariwen were drawn into the training camps of Colonel Gaddafi who wanted to form an Islamic army to further his revolutionary and acquisitive ambitions.   Gaddafi told them he was going to help build a Tuareg nation but it soon became evident that this was a lie.  The dispossessed, disenchanted Malian Tuareg became drawn instead to the separatist Malian revolutionary Tuareg movement, the MPA (Mouvement Populaire de l’Azawad).

The MPA’s leader saw the power of Tinariwen’s music and provided support and backing for equipment to develop and rehearse.  However Tinariwen’s music transcended simple propaganda carrying the message of the timeless desert and speaking to individuals.

Tinariwen’s rise to international fame came after a seminal meeting with the French/Algerian band Lo’Jo in ‘98 which hailed a tour of France and performance in January 2001 at the inaugural Festival au Désert at Essakane outside Timbuktu in Mali.  There they were spotted and began their ride to international fame and have since released three albums:

The Radio Tisdas Sessions, 2002 produced by Justin Adams and Lo’Jo
Amassakoul, 2004,
and, in 2007, the critically acclaimed Aman Iman: Water is Life, released by Independiente Ltd..

Aman Iman: Water is Life is dedicated to “Peace, tolerance and development in the Sahara and in the world of the oppressed.”

To Purchase:

Click the picture below to buy Aman Iman: Water is Life from Itunes or HERE for the CD.

Links:
Tinariwen.com
Tinariwen’s Official Myspace
Tinariwen Live Gigs
Festival au Desert web site
Boubacar Traouré on Myspace & Boubacar Traouré on Calabash Music
Ali Farka Touré on Myspace
Lo’Jo Web Site

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