Tinariwen

Tinariwen (Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's guitar-driven style combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock music. They have released eight albums since their formation and have toured internationally.

The group was founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, along with Alhassane Ag Touhami and brothers Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil (aka "Diarra").
The as then unnamed musical group was formed in 1979 while exiled in Tamanrasset, Algeria. Tinariwen formed as a musical collective while in military training in Libya, aiming to write songs about issues facing the Tuareg people. They returned to Mali in 1989, with some members joining as fighters in a Tuareg rebellion before dedicating themselves to music full-time in 1991 after a peace accord was reached. Tinariwen first started to gain a following outside the Sahara region in 2001 with the release of the album ''The Radio Tisdas Sessions'', and with performances at Festival au Désert in Mali and the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Their popularity rose internationally with the release of the critically acclaimed album ''Aman Iman'' in 2007. Following the start of the Mali War in 2012, the group fled their home country and have since lived and recorded in exile due to threats against them from militant groups.

The group has been nominated Grammy Awards three times, and in 2012 '' Tassili'' won the award for Best World Music Album. NPR calls the group "music's true rebels", AllMusic deems the group's music "a grassroots voice of rebellion", and ''Slate'' calls the group "rock 'n' roll rebels whose rebellion, for once, wasn't just metaphorical".

Biography

Background

Musician Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, at the age of four, witnessed the execution of his father, a Tuareg rebel, during a 1963 uprising in Mali. After seeing a western film in which a cowboy played a guitar as a child, Ag Alhabib built his own guitar out of a "plastic water can, a stick and some fishing wire", according to future bandmate Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Ag Alhabib first lived in Algeria in refugee camps near Bordj Badji Mokhtar and in the deserts around the southern city of Tamanrasset, where he was given a guitar from a local Arab man.

Later, Ag Alhabib resided with other Tuareg exiles in Libya and Algeria. He acquired his first real acoustic guitar in 1979. During this period he formed a band with Alhassane Ag Touhami and brothers Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil (aka "Diarra") to play at parties and weddings. While the group had no official name, people began to call them Kel Tinariwen, which in the Tamashek language translates as "The People of the Deserts" or "The Desert Boys".

In 1980 Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi put out a decree inviting all young Tuareg men who were living illegally in Libya to receive full military training. Gaddafi dreamed of forming a Saharan regiment, made up of young Tuareg fighters, to further his territorial ambitions in Chad, Niger