Desert Blues

Tinariwen are a band of nomadic musicians from the Northern Sahara in Mali.  They have been called the most rocknroll of them all for their blues rock sound, but while they do feature some electric guitar their sound actually developed in relative isolation along the Niger River from Timbuktu to Gao.  The band features traditional Tuareg elements: the shepherds flute (men), imzad 1 string fiddle (women), tinde drum (women), teherdent lute (griots poets).  Their core influences are traditional Tuareg melodies and rhythms, Berber music of N. Algeria, griots - the wandering poet musicians of W. Africa, Moroccan Arabic and  Egyptian pop.