THE PRIDE

Meet the other titans of desert blues.

MDOU MOCTAR Wielding a lefthanded Fender, and often using heavy vocal distortion, the motorcycle-riding star of Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red

in It is currently pushing desert blues in an even more psychedelic direction. His 2013 album,

Afelane, became a viral success both in and out of Africa by being shared over mobile phones.

GROUP INERANE Hailing from northern Niger, Group Inerane is most notable for its dueling-guitar riffs and ’60s-era psychedelic sound. One of its two guitarists, Adi Mohamed, was killed by government soldiers near Agadez during a 2010 uprising.

TINARIWEN Founded in the early 1980s, this Malibased music collective pioneered Tuareg guitar music. Most of the group’s members fought on the front lines during one or more of the rebellions. Their 2011 album,

Tassili, recorded in the Algerian desert and featuring TV on the Radio and Nels Cline of Wilco, won a Grammy for Best World Music Album.