desert blues | Musicosity

Toumast

The Touaregs occupy a huge territory that stretches from central Sahara – southern Libya to southern Algeria – to the North of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. During the past decades, their society underwent transformations that deeply modified their pastoral and trading economy as well as their political life. At the beginning of the 1960's, while the Touaregs expressed in vain their refusal to be attached to the states of Niger or Mali, the decolonization deprived them of true independence and their territory was parted between different states.

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Vieux Farka Toure

This is a bogus artist, please see Vieux Farka Touré. Thank you.

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Khaira Arby

Khaïra Arby (sometimes spelled Haira) "The Nightingale of the North" is a singer from Mali. She is from the desert- from Agouni, north of Timbuktu, Mali, and cousin to Ali Farka Touré. She sings in Sonrai, Arabic, Tamashek, accompanied by instruments and rhythms just as varied, with electric guitar and trickling beats, calabash, traditional violin and guitar, and drumming that creates that abrupt squared sound of the music from that part of Mali.

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Awesome Tapes from Africa

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Tamikrest

Tamikrest are a group of young Touareg musicians from the far north of Mali.

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Terakaft

Terakaft is a gang of guitarists, in the same vein as Tinariwen. Nothing astonishing about that if you consider that Terakaft was founded by Kedou and Diara, two formative and historical guitarists from Tinariwen. Moreover Kedou accompanied Tinariwen to the very first Festival with the Desert by Chock-Essako in January 2001, and contributes four songs on their first album The Radio Tisdas Sessions.

Group Doueh

"If you think you’ve heard all the great electric guitar styles in the world, think again. This Saharan sand-blizzard of fine-crushed glass will grind your face to a bloody pulp. Group Doueh play raw and unfiltered Saharawi music from the former colonial Spanish outpost of the Western Sahara. Doueh (pronounced “Doo-way”) is their leader and a master of the electric guitar. He’s been performing since he was a child playing in many groups before finally creating his own in the 1980’s. Doueh says he’s Influenced by western pop and rock music especially Jimi Hendrix and James Brown.

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Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara

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Les Espoirs de Coronthie

Les Espoirs de Coronthie have their base in Guinea Conakry, West Africa, where they're one of the most popular groups playing traditionally based music right now. Their texts talk about everyday life, in the language Sousou. They have a website at http://www.myspace.com/espoirscoronthie.

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Aziza Brahim

Aziza is a Saharawi from Western Sahara, born in a refugee camp in Algeria. At the age of 11 Aziza received a schoolarship to study in Cube where she spent seven years, before abandoning her studies in order to dedicate herself to music. She won the first prize in a national song competition in a cultural festival of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic - the self-proclaimed Saharawi state, exiled in the refugee camps and recognized by over 80 countries.

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The Kill Devil Hills

The Kill Devil Hills are a 6 piece country, swampy blues band from Perth, Western Australia. Their 2004 release Heathen Songs was followed in 2006 by The Drought, an album which has been widely praised by local reviews. The multi-award-winning group spent the best part of 2009 completing their third album,

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