Sahara Blues: Tinariwen

Welcome to this Sahara trip: we’re taking you to a place where the wind hands out free exfoliations, and where after ten minutes you’re no longer sure whether you’re listening to music or slowly drying out on your camel. Tinariwen is the most renowned group in this genre and began in the early 1980s in a military camp, where they stood up as freedom fighters for the nomadic people of the region. These men eventually traded their rifles for guitars, because music reached further than ammunition ever could. What started as campfire songs in the desert grew into a unique form of Sahara blues that travelled the world. The tracks in this compilation form a desert journey through Tinariwen’s musical landscape of the past twenty years, without getting sand in your shoes. Tinariwen sings in Tamasheq, the language of the Tuareg, and plays enchanting blues on guitars that once shone brightly but now contain more sand than strings. The result is pure desert trance: hypnotic rhythms that smell of dust, camels and mint tea, grooving as if the sun itself taught the campfire how to groove. Lean back and let this desert blues ease you into Sahara mode, heatwave by heatwave. And don’t forget to drink in time, before you start hallucinating that you’re arguing with a camel somewhere between two dunes. A camel that’s somehow even more stubborn than you. Tracklist: 01. 00.00.00 Sastanàqqàm — Elwan (2017) 02. 00.03.15 Cler Achel — Aman Iman (2007) 03. 00.07.35 Amassakoul ’n’ Ténéré — Amassakoul (2004) 04. 00.10.47 Arawan — Amassakoul (2004) 05. 00.14.35 Matadjem Yinmixan — Aman Iman (2007) 06. 00.20.24 Imidiwan Afrik Temdam — Imidiwan (2009) 07. 00.23.13 Tahult In — Imidiwan: Companions (2009) 08. 00.27.17 Toumast Tincha — Emmaar (2014) 09. 00.31.26 Imidiwan Ahi Sigdim — Emmaar (2014) 10. 00.36.10 Imidiwan Ma Tennam — Tassili (2011) 11. 00.40.37 Kel Tinawen — Amadjar (2019) 12. 00.44.33 Zawal — Amadjar (2019) 13. 00.47.52 Tenere Taqquim Tossam — Tassili (2011) 14. 00.51.53 Tenhert — Imidiwan (2009) 15. 00.57.17 Amidinin Wadar Nohar — Hoggar (2026) 16. 01.00.23 Chet Boghassa — Amassakoul (2004) 17. 01.04.06 Kek Alghalm — Amatssou (2023) 18. 01.07.28 Arajghiyine — Amatssou (2023) 19. 01.11.20 Sagharat Assani — Hoggar (2026) 20. 01.15.41 Imidiwan Takyadam — Hoggar (2026) 21. 01.19.01 Nànnuflày — Elwan (2017) 22. 01.24.01 Tenere Den — Amatssou (2023) 23. 01.27.23 Tamatant Tilay — Aman Iman (2007)