Tinariwen bring desert blues to Wales

May 3 2008 by Karen Price, Western Mail

AN AFRICAN band who boast an A-list fan club, including musicians Robert Plant and Bono, will make their Welsh debut as part of a rare UK tour.

Thanks to their raw brand of desert blues, Tinariwen have been riding high since the release of their album, Aman Iman, last year.

In February, the album won an Impala Silver award for 30,000 sales in the UK – a real achievement for an African band singing songs in Tamashek, the language of the semi-nomadic Touareg of the southern Sahara.

Tinariwen’s home-spun rock, forged in exile and rebellion, has already assembled an impressive list of followers, including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Santana, Coldplay and Brian Eno.

One critic said: “This extraordinary band are clearly pushing for more than cult world-music status.

“They fully merit it.”

Tinariwen return to the UK just as the political situation in their home territory of northeastern Mali, around the town of Kidal, is deteriorating.

A new Touareg splinter rebel movement, lead by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, has been attacking Malian army convoys and taking hostages in recent weeks.

Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, has been working in partnership with Pontardawe Arts Centre, Taliesin Arts Centre and Push 4 to bring Tinariwen to Wales for the first time.

It has been made possible by the Arts Council of Wales’ Arts Outside Cardiff scheme, and is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Tinariwen will perform at Pontardawe Arts Centre (May 20), The Point, Cardiff (May 21) and the Hay Festival (May 23).