Tinariwen Share "À L’Histoire" From 'Kel Tinariwen' Reissue
The Grammy Award-winning desert blues band is back.
On November 4, Tinariwen will share a reissue of their early '90s album Kel Tinariwen, a record that was initially released in Mali on cassette only. Kel Tinariwen will be come alongside two other Tinariwen reissues, Aman Iman: Water Is Life and Imidiwan: Companion. The records will be out on the same day under Craft Recordings,.
"À L'Histoire" is a record that is elevated by the springy acoustics of percussion and guitar and a hypnotizing vocal reminiscent of 80s synth-pop.
For decades, Tinariwen wrote their music specifically for the Tuareg people and the socio-political realities that they faced. The Tuareg people, traditionally a nomadic community, consisted of a vast Berber ethnic group that occupied the Sahara while covering large areas from southwestern Libya to Mali and Burkina Faso, to name a few. Tinariwen performed for years without the release of a formal compilation of work. At the time of their official, documented musical debut, they had become a full-fledged musical band with versatility and a heightened musical acumen.
The Grammy-winning group has since collaborated with a dozen of well-known artists like Nels Cline and TV On The Radio. Despite the band's growth, they seem to have maintained the unique cadence of the rhythm and flow that initially made them the group that they are.
The three-fold release features Kel Tinariwen, a body of work that showcases their trademark rhythm, a sound that is reminiscent of Arabic 80s music. Tinariwen will also reissue Aman Iman and Imidiwan: Companions—their third and fourth recording studio albums, respectively—which fuse themes of West African-influenced traditional music with electronic rock'n'roll, in what many fans of the group fondly call "desert blues.