"we have the news that Ibrahim Ag Alhabib has chosen to stay with his people in the desert and not come on tour with Tinariwen to Europe, at least not before summer 2014. For both personal reasons and the complicated situation that continues in his country.
Tinariwen are into another phase of their career. A new version is moving forward, with Eyadou Ag Leche the bass player as the musical director, and a dynamic new show. A new guitarist and singer (Yad Abderrahmane) is joining the band, who will sing Ibrahim’s songs from the forthcoming record as well as some of the old ones. He is very charismatic, young and good-looking. The show will feature more of the band members as lead singers, alternating every 2/3 songs, so giving great variety.
Tinariwen have always operated a squad system, and never toured with exactly the same line-up, not in the 1990s, nor since. Should Ibrahim come on later tours he will be an addition, not a replacement"

Touareg rock, alias desert world-music, alias the roots of the blues. Great to see them again too, after that sold-out ABflex in 2011. Now with the new CD 'Emmaar', out here via Pias.

Tinariwen has been the band around Ibrahim Ag Alhabib for more than thirty years now. Apparently it's Kel Tinariwen in full, alias 'the people of the desert', as these are Touaregs too... with a homebase in Mali, or more broadly speaking: the Southern Sahara.

In the AB with T-Model Ford in late 2009, for a memorable 'Alan Lomax' night spent searching for the source of the blues. You can best catalogue them under 'world' and 'roots'.

Tinariwen is the missing link between West Africa and the Mississippi delta. Just ask Robert Plant, Carlos Santana, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel.... Or think of Jimi Hendrix, Ali Farka Touré...

De Standaard too, on the Aman Iman CD from 2007: 'Ecstasy from the desert... what a fantastic power... this is the deep, hypnotic music that is rooted in an age-old métier’.