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In 2014 Tinariwen stopped at Rancho de la Luna studios in the desert of California’s Joshua Tree National Park. While location proved particularly propitious in terms of creativity, the human climate was just as favourable, as musicians dropped by to add their own touch. Piccadilly faves Kurt Vile and Mark Lanegan, Cat Power guitarist Matt Sweeny and Queens Of The Stone Age producer Alan Johannes all joined the band in the baking heat, bringing their contrasting but complimentary styles to the project. All of this was honed by engineer Andrew Schepps, who offered Tinariwen the same sonic precision he lent to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash and Jay Z. Two years later, in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, an oasis in southern Morocco near the Algerian frontier, the band set up their tents for recording, accompanied by the local musical youth and a Ganga outfit (a group of Berber ‘gnawa’ trance musicians). "Elwan" ("The Elephants") is musically powerful and thematically poignant: every song evokes a land that can no longer be found, with all the emotions this elicits, from nostalgia for a joyous past to the tragic recent loss of a territory and of the dream that it nourished. Vital music from the irrepressible Tuareg troupe.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As spellbinding as they ever were, Tuareg desert-rockers Tinariwen pull out another brilliant suite of hypnotising melodies, imbibed with pure dusty heat, traditional instrumentation and their own impeccable grace. As essential as anything they've ever done.