/World/African

TINARIWEN
imidiwan - companions

Release Date: 29/06/2009

tinariwen's fourth album is released as a luxury cd package which includes a stunning 30 minute dvd of the group's life whilst recording the album in the desert. in addition, 'imidiwan - companions' includes a booklet full of beautiful desert shots and captivating anecdotes of the band's life both past and present. 'imidiwan' is one of those big tamashek words, to which no single english word can ever do justice. just like 'assouf', the name which the touareg themselves often give tinariwen's guitar style. 'assouf' means the blues, loneliness, heartache, longing, homesickness, the darkness beyond the campfire. 'imidiwan' means friends, companions, soul-brothers, fellow travellers. the juxtaposition of these two words is particularly striking. maybe tinariwen are coming in from the cold and recognising all those soul-friends, both living and departed, who have made their incredible journey bearable, whilst warming their hands over the camp fire and looking up at the night sky thick with stars. it's often said that every touareg from tamanrasset to niamey and from timbuktu to ghat is a member of tinariwen, so widely are their songs known and treasured. they are more of a social movement than a desert rock 'n' roll band. their 2004 cd 'amassakoul' ('the traveller') and its follow-up in 2007 'aman iman' ('water is life'), have established them as one of the most popular and best selling african groups on the planet. their ever expanding fan base includes a host of stars and legends like carlos santana, robert plant, bono and the edge, thom yorke, chris martin, henry rollins, brian eno, tv on the radio. in 2005 they were awarded a bbc award for world music, and in 2008 they received germany's prestigious praetorius music prize. in december of 2008 the old and the young gathered in the sleepy desert village of tessalit to record tinariwen's fourth album. it seemed like the ideal place; quiet, off the beaten track, home to hassan and ibrahim, blessed with a plentiful water supply and a friendly familiar populace. the group had expressed a strong desire to return to their roots and recapture the raw desert sound of their early recordings.