The Tuareg people are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria.
The music of Mali is, like that of most African nations, ethnically diverse, but one influence predominates: that of the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka. Mande people make up around 50% of Mali's population; other ethnic groups include the Fula (17%), Gur-speakers 12%, Songhai people (6%), Tuareg and Moors (10%).
The music of Niger has developed from the musical traditions of a mix of ethnic groups; Hausa, the Zarma-Songhai, Tuareg, Fula, Kanuri, Toubou, Diffa Arabs and Gurma and the Boudouma from Lac Chad.
Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of northern Mali. Considered pioneers of desert blues, the group's guitar-driven style combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock music. They have released nine albums since their formation and have toured internationally.
Chris Brokaw is an American musician, best known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.
Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American label Sub Pop. Since 1997 the annual Orange Blossom Special Festival has been staged behind the Glitterhouse headquarters. Glitterhouse created the subsidiary Glitterbeat Records label (2012) and Stag-O-Lee Mailorder record shop.
The Festival au désert was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world between 2001 and 2012. It was founded and directed by Manny Ansar, and attracted thousands of visitors, bringing a huge boost to the economy.
The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the lineup changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members were Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller.
Tartit are a band from the Tombouctou Region of Mali. The group consists of five women and four men, all of whom are Tamasheq-speaking Tuareg. They formed in 1992 in a refugee camp in Mauritania. Imharhan, an expanded group that includes current and former Tartit members, incorporates electric instruments and cross-cultural experiments into their music.
Tishoumaren or assouf, internationally known as desert blues, is a style of music from the Sahara region of northern and west Africa. Critics describe the music as a fusion of blues and rock music with Tuareg, Malian or North African music. Various other terms are used to describe it including desert rock, Saharan rock, Takamba, Mali blues, Tuareg rock or simply "guitar music". The style has been pioneered by Tuareg musicians in the Sahara region, particularly in Mali, Niger, Libya, Western Sahara, Algeria, Burkina Faso and others.
The May 23, 2006 Democratic Alliance for Change is a Malian Tuareg rebel group, formed in 2006 by ex-combatants from the 1990s Tuareg insurgency in Mali. In 2007, splinters of the organisation returned to combat in northern Mali, launching the Malian element of the 2007 Tuareg insurgency. Led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, this ADC faction continued to operate under that name, despite most elements remaining under ceasefire. In July 2008, most of these elements, along with much of the splinter following Ag Bahanga reached another accord with the Malian government in Algiers. Ag Bahanga and a faction of that group rejected the accord and fled to Libya. At the end of 2008, this faction returned to fighting, operating under the name Alliance Touaregue Nord Mali Pour Le Changement (ATNMC). The government of Mali has contended since 2007 that the Ag Bahanga faction of the ADC is a "band of marginals" who were "isolated from the heart of the Tuareg community", primarily motivated by lucrative Trans-Saharan smuggling operations operating from Ag Bahanga's home town of Tin-Zaouatene. Ag Bahanga and the other leaders of his faction contend that the government of Mali oppresses the Tuareg population of the north, and has repeatedly failed to live up to its agreements with the ADC and other groups. Outside observers have also speculated that internal rivalries between Tuareg from the Kel Adagh and the Ouilliminden confederations have frustrated peace attempts.
Tassili is the fifth album by the Tuareg-Berber band Tinariwen, recorded in Tassili n'Ajjer, an Algerian national park in 2011. The album marked a major departure from previous recordings. The producer, Ian Brennan, stated that it "was the least overdubbed, most live, band-centric and song-oriented record they have done.”
Iyad Ag Ghaly, also known as Abū al-Faḍl, is a Tuareg militant from Mali's Kidal Region. He has been active in Tuareg rebellions against the Malian government since the 1980s – particularly in the early 1990s. In 1988, he founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. In the latest episode of the Tuareg upheavals in 2012, he featured as the founder and leader of the Islamist militant group Ansar Dine.
Ben Zabo is a Malian Afrobeat-musician from Bamako. He was born at Tominian in the Ségou Region. He released his self-titled debut album on the international record company Glitterhouse Records in 2012.
Trail of Stars is the ninth studio album by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on August 2, 1999 through Glitterhouse Records. It's their return album to Glitterhouse, formerly Sub Pop Europe, after a two album detour with major label Virgin.
Soutak is a 2014 album by Sahrawi singer Aziza Brahim, and her first album for Glitterbeat Records.
Noura Mint Seymali is a Mauritanian griot, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist.
Amadjar is the eighth album by the Tuareg band Tinariwen, released on September 6, 2019. The album's title means "the foreign traveler" in the Tamashek language. The album features guest appearances by Noura Mint Seymali, Micah Nelson, Cass McCombs, Stephen O'Malley, Warren Ellis, and Rodolphe Burger. The album reached number 74 on the Ultratop albums chart in Belgium.
Tamotait is the fifth studio album by Malian group Tamikrest. It was released on March 27, 2020, under Glitterbeat.
Ahmed Ag Kaedy is a Malian guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the leader of the group Amanar de Kidal. Originally from Kidal, he is a member of the nomadic Tuareg people, whose distinct style of rhythm and use of the guitar is often referred to as Tishoumaren, or desert blues. He is one of the main characters in the 2016 documentary Mali Blues.
