HOW TO BUY… TINARIWEN

TÉNÉRÉ (EMI, 1993)

Credited to “Groupe Tinarwen” and recorded in the Ivory Coast, the band views this cassette-only release as their debut album. The title means simply “Desert”.

THE RADIO TISDAS SESSIONS (WAYWARD, 2001)

The band’s first official release – co-produced by Robert Plant collaborator Justin Adams – recorded at the local Tuareg station in Kidal, Mali. The first time the wider world heard the band’s spare, dust-beaten music.

AMASSAKOUL (IRL, 2004)

Augmented by new members, this second album has a more produced, intricate sound than it’s predecessor – there is Tamashek rap – but the loose rhythms remain.

AMAN IMAN: WATER IS LIFE (INDEPENDIENTE, 2007)

Incorporating more conventional rock tropes – there are wah-wah pedals and distortion – but the essentials stay the same. There’s grit and fire – but more thoughtful, reflective pieces are also evident.

IMIDIWAN: COMPANIONS (INDEPENDIENTE, 2009)

A former winner of the Uncut Music Award. Its low-slung grooves and call-and-response vocals shimmer with sorrow, joy and mystery; tripped-out drones are also present.

TASSILI (V2, 2011)

The Grammy winner. And a return, of sorts, to the acoustic instruments they first played together. Guest spots – Nels Cline, members of TV On The Radio – indicate a measure of the band’s confidence in their sound.

EMMAAR (WEDGE, 2014)

Recorded in enforced exile – at California’s Joshua Tree National Park – and accordingly a wistful tone pervades through the sinewy desert rock and soulful Mahgreb blues.

ELWAN (WEDGE, 2017)

Kurt Vile and Mark Lanegan join the party, yet while Elwan doesn’t herald any stylistic breakthrough, its acoustic arpeggios and moments of propulsive rock energy prove exalting.

AMAJDAR (ANTI-, 2019)

Recorded back on African soil, this latest album has a brooding, elegiac tone – particularly on the closing tracks, which exhibit a rueful urgency about the plight of their homeland.