Ernesto Djedje left the planet at a very young age – but thanks to recordings like this, he really left his mark on the music scene in the Ivory Coast – and the larger world of West African music as well! There's a special blend of traditional sounds and contemporary elements going on here – a hybrid that Djedje clearly picked up while working in the French scene earlier in his career, before returning home to make some really amazing records like this! Tracks have a pulsating groove throughout – more a flow directed by the guitar and bass than the heavier sound of Afro Funk – and Djedje's vocals have a raspy charm that grabs you instantly, and which really work well beyond the boundary of language. Titles include "Zigilbithiens", "Golozo", "Bilwana", and "Nini". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that marks an unusual chapter in the career of this legendary group, yet one that also fits very strongly into their wonderful run of albums in the 21st Century! The set's got a unique approach – recorded in a tent in Algeria, but with long-distance production from Daniel Lanois – and contributions by a few Nashville musicians too – in ways that only seem to reinscribe the importance of the guitar work at the group's core, even while other flavors might be sliding in and out of the mix! Despite Lanois' legacy with some more popular acts, the sound is never too commercial – plenty to love here if you love Tinariwen – on titles that include "Kek Alghalm", "Arajghiyine", "Tidjit", "Jayche Atarak", "Imidwan Mahitinam", "Ezlan", "Iket Adjen", and "Nak Idnizdjam". CD

A record that marks an unusual chapter in the career of this legendary group, yet one that also fits very strongly into their wonderful run of albums in the 21st Century! The set's got a unique approach – recorded in a tent in Algeria, but with long-distance production from Daniel Lanois – and contributions by a few Nashville musicians too – in ways that only seem to reinscribe the importance of the guitar work at the group's core, even while other flavors might be sliding in and out of the mix! Despite Lanois' legacy with some more popular acts, the sound is never too commercial – plenty to love here if you love Tinariwen – on titles that include "Kek Alghalm", "Arajghiyine", "Tidjit", "Jayche Atarak", "Imidwan Mahitinam", "Ezlan", "Iket Adjen", and "Nak Idnizdjam". LP, Vinyl record album