Accessibility links
Tinariwen Tinariwen artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music

Tinariwen

New Music Friday: Our Top 8 Albums Out Sep. 6

British R&B singer Mahalia. Her debut full-length Love and Compromise is on our shortlist for the best new albums out on Sep. 6. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: Our Top 8 Albums Out Sep. 6

Our list of the best albums out this week includes The Highwomen's self-titled release, R&B singer Mahalia's remarkable Love and Compromise, new Frankie Cosmos, MUNA, Lower Dens and more.

New Music Friday: Our Top 8 Albums Out Sep. 6

Listen · 33:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/758015062/758169907" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Mali's 'Guitar Gods' Tinariwen Receive Racist Threats Ahead Of U.S. Tour

Ahead of a September tour date in Winston-Salem, N.C., social media commenters are leveling violent, racist attacks against the Tuareg musicians known as Tinariwen. Marie Planeille/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Marie Planeille/Courtesy of the artist

Music News

Mali's 'Guitar Gods' Tinariwen Receive Racist Threats Ahead Of U.S. Tour

The band of Tuareg guitarists — who have faced down Islamic extremism at home in Mali — are receiving violent threats and racist responses to a scheduled concert in North Carolina in September.

Mali's 'Guitar Gods' Tinariwen Receive Racist Threats Ahead Of U.S. Tour

Listen · 4:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/744518696/744872811" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
First Listen: Tinariwen, 'Emmaar'

Tinariwen's new album, Emmaar, comes out Feb. 11. Marie Planeille/Courtesy of the artists hide caption

toggle caption
Marie Planeille/Courtesy of the artists

First Listen

First Listen: Tinariwen, 'Emmaar'

How do the premier ambassadors of Saharan soul navigate a dangerous time? With an album that sonically acknowledges a temporary home in the U.S.

Hear All Songs Considered Hosts Bob Boilen And Robin Hilton On 'Emmaar'

Listen · 3:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/267027505/272059794" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Mali 100, Presented By Afropop Worldwide

Malian singing legend Oumou Sangare performing in Essaouira, Morocco in June 2012. Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images

The Mix

The Mali 100, Presented By Afropop Worldwide

Mali is currently a country in crisis. Yet this West African country boasts one of the world's richest musical traditions, and iconic artists like Ali Farka Toure, Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare and Tinariwen. With help from our friends at Afropop Worldwide, we selected 100 songs that demonstrate Mali's musical breadth.

Tinariwen: Tiny Desk Concert
Mallory Benedict/NPR

Tiny Desk

Tinariwen: Tiny Desk Concert

Even in a stripped-down acoustic formation, Tinariwen's trance-inducing desert music doesn't disappoint. Watch the Tuareg musicians don their beautiful, flowing robes for a stunning set in the NPR Music offices.

Tinariwen: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 19:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144431409/144614933" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

Clockwise from top: Tinariwen, Lykke Li, Eleanor Friedberger, John Maus. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

This week, All Songs Considered starts fresh with brand-new music due out this summer. Hear songs from Eleanor Friedberger, Mates of State, Tinariwen, and others.

New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

Listen · 38:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/137328738/137346630" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Bonnaroo 2010: A Look Back

All Songs Considered

Bonnaroo 2010: A Look Back

On this All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen examines some of the highlights from the enormous Bonaroo Music Festival with Rita Houston of WFUV, Andy Uhler of KUT and Jill Riley of The Current.

Bonnaroo 2010: A Look Back

Listen · 59:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/127879040/127879039" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Bonnaroo 2010: Tinariwen In Concert

Tinariwen performs on the "Which" stage on Sunday, June 13, 2010, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. Shantel Mitchell hide caption

toggle caption
Shantel Mitchell

Live From Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo 2010: Tinariwen In Concert

From the Sahara Desert in northern Mali comes the Tuareg band of musicians known as Tinariwen. Hear the group perform live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

Listen Now: Tinariwen In Concert

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/127559875/127816679" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Best Music of 2007

The Year's Best World Music

Banning Eyre, senior editor of Afropop.org, shines the spotlight on Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean with his picks for the year's best albums. Among his selections: Watina, an effort by singer Andy Palacio to preserve the culture of the Garifuna people of Central America.

The Year's Best World Music

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17249766/17637996" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Tinariwen: Music's True Rebels

In the '80s, the Tuareg people of West Africa rebelled against Mali. The struggle has been violent, but one group put down its weapons to combine traditional music with electric guitars. Hear an interview with one of Tinariwen's guitarists and singers.

Tinariwen: Music's True Rebels

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/16161250/16182614" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

All Songs Considered

Antibalas, The Besnard Lakes, Let's Go Sailing

The African beats of Brooklyn's Antibalas; The Sahara's rebel group Tinariwen; Dark harmonies from The Besnard Lakes; The controlled chaos of Frog Eyes; The whimsical pop of Let's Go Sailing and more.

Antibalas, The Besnard Lakes, Let's Go Sailing

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15960593/15960596" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org