Aicha

Artist: Tamikrest

Tamikrest are a group of young Touareg musicians from the far north of Mali, where the parched landscape forms part of the Sahara desert. 

Their name means ‘the knot, junction or coalition’, a reference to the fact that the members hail from different regions, and ‘Adagh’ is another name for the Touareg, who are also referred to by their language, Tamashek. 

They’re being dubbed ‘the spiritual sons of Tinariwen’ – the original exponents of the ‘Ishumar rock’ (Touareg rebel music), and right from the first notes of this debut album, it’s obvious who they’ve modelled their music on. 

While Tinariwen have four lead vocalists and writers, Tamikrest’s Ousmane Ag Mossa is the sole featured singer and songwriter. His lyrics follow much the same themes as theirs, though, focussing most often on the Touareg struggle for self determination as an oppressed group in contemporary Malian society.