Kidal, ML · Tuareg rock

Tamikrest

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Saharan desert-blues caravan — Tamasheq anthems of exile and pride, hypnotic guitar circles under open sky.

Tamikrest formed in 2006 in Tinzawaten, a small oasis town on the Mali-Algeria border, founded by Ousmane Ag Mossa, Cheikh Ag Tiglia and Aghaly Ag Mohamedine, who had all studied at the same local school. They grew up amid the Tuareg civil war of the 1990s, and when new conflict broke out in 2006, Ag Mossa and Ag Tiglia chose to pursue the Tuareg cause through music rather than fighting.

Led by singer and guitarist Ousmane Ag Mossa, the group sings in Tamasheq, addressing displacement, cultural survival and life in the Sahara. In their earliest years they played traditional Kel Tamasheq songs and the repertoire of Tinariwen, before mp3s and internet access introduced them to Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd and Mark Knopfler, all of whom fed into the sound that followed.

Musically they combine circling, modal guitar lines and hand-percussion-driven rhythms with elements borrowed from rock and blues, building long, hypnotic pieces that shift gradually rather than following verse-chorus structures. The band has said this blend of trance and melody is most apparent in live performance, where the pieces stretch out further than on record.

A chance meeting with Dirtmusic at the 2008 Festival au Désert led to a lasting collaboration; Dirtmusic's Chris Eckman produced Tamikrest's debut, Adagh (2010), and its follow-up, Toumastin (2011). The addition of guitarist Paul Salvagnac on Chatma pushed the band toward a harder rock sound; the album, focused on the struggles of Saharan women, won the 2013 Songlines Award for Best Album. Kidal (2017) and Tamotait (2020) returned emphasis to Tamasheq tradition.

Their touring and recording have largely taken place outside Mali, a consequence of the conflict in the country's north. Tamikrest has toured Europe, Africa, North and South America, Japan, South Korea and Australia, building a reputation as one of the more prominent Tuareg rock bands performing internationally.

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Tuareg rock