I recently discovered this band (Tinariwen). They're from the northern Sahara region of Mali. I'm usually not very attracted to anything that can be called "World Music" but I really, really like this. It's really exotic, in a very good way, and I admit I've always been especially attracted to music from Northern Africa. The vocals sound kind of dull to me, mostly lower-register chanting, but their sound is driven by some great percussion and great guitar sounds, both acoustic and electric, that feel connected to the blues in a way, but are really unique. I also picked up the album before this, Aman Iman (Water Is Life), and it's really good, too -- almost all acoustic. Both albums are really great sounding recordings, too.

I discovered them when was reading a brief interview of Pieta Brown where she was asked what she was listening to lately, and she mentioned this band and Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. I listened to some samples and I was in. Thanks, Pieta.



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055WXHO4/?tag=imwan-20

I have this one and their previous album, "Imidiwan: Companions," and they're both excellent. Not what most people would consider "African music," since it has a much more Middle Eastern feel. I initially read about them in Mojo a couple of years ago and was intrigued, and after hearing one of their songs on the Mojo "Africa Rising" compilation, I knew I had to hear more from them.