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[miko2]

Song of the Day: Oulahila Ar Tesninam by Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a band from Mali. their name means "empty places" in the Tamashek languge, and the band hails from the empty places of North Africa, on the edges of the Sahara desert in Mali. Formed in 1982 in the Libyan refuge camps for Taureg rebels, Tinariwen are said to be the first Taureg band to use electric guitars. They have a very bluesy rock sound built on Arabic song structures and they sing in a mixture of French and Tamashek. They sing about Taureg independence from the Mali government -- which they once fought for -- and their message is now being carried the world over.

I picked up their cd Amassakoul last year after having read about them on Amazon.com. As my friends know I have a thing for roots rock -- anything mixing modern rock with traditional music gets my attention, and I liked Tinariwen as soon as I heard them. I quickly picked out Oualahila Ar Tesninam as my favorite track, a bluesy rocker that rolls along like a storm sweeping across the desert sands. It has more upbeat, aggressive energy than most of their music, which mostly has a laid back, hypnotic feel. Their sound doesn't vary too much, but then, it doesn't really need to. It is a part of them, and a part of the desert they come from, and their soul infuses their music.

Little did I know how fast their star was rising -- according to a short piece on PRI's The World radio program, Tinariwen has been picked s the opening act for no less than the Rolling Stones in an upcoming concert. They have already toured Europe and the United States and are selling out concerts everywhere they go. They are hot -- and you can find videos of them all over Youtube. ^_^ (Including them jamming with Carlos Santana). Unfortunately among all those videos I didn't find the song I'm listing as my song of the day, but no matter, there's lots of Tinariwen goodness to watch and listen to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrSFLShB3YE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKHDK0nivqg&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XgKDpmbGeo&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-r_hl-w-dI&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9R1dGl2DU&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdYr4-xUCOM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCkSX6Kl3ig&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAO2uk9G7Qo&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhlVVuxnRwc&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bymr3n3zTfw&mode=related&search=