Tamikrest
Encyclopedia
Tamikrest is a group of musicians who belong to the Tuareg people. The band was founded in 2006. They mix traditional African music with Western rock and pop influences and sing in Tamashek. Main songwriter and leader of the band is Ousmane Ag Mossa.
Their music is characterized by electric guitars and vocals, youyous, bass, drums, djembé and other percussion instruments.
. All of them visited the Les enfants de l'Adrar school in Tinzawaten
, a small oasis in the middle of the desert, which was funded by European foundations. It was there that the future members of Tamikrest got their basic musical training. Their youth was shaped by the civil war that took place between 1990 and 1995. Many family members and friends died while the Tuareg fought for their autonomy. When new riots broke out in 2006, Ousmane Ag Mossa and his friend Cheick Ag Tiglia decided not to fight with weapons, but to call attention to the Tuareg’s cause with musical means.
In their youth they played the traditional music of the Kel Tamasheq (as the Tuareg call themselves) and the songs of the Tuareg band Tinariwen
, who already mixed African traditional music with western rock music in the eighties. Through the internet and mp3 culture, the Tamikrest members got to know bands and musicians like Jimi Hendrix
, Bob Marley
, Pink Floyd
and Mark Knopfler
who influenced the shaping of the special Tamikrest sound as well.
A chance meeting with the American-Australian band Dirtmusic at the Festival Au Désert in 2008, which took place in Essakane
(about 50 miles west of Timbuktu
), led to a friendship and musical cooperation. When Dirtmusic recorded their second album, BKO, in a studio in Bamako
(the capital of Mali) in 2010, Tamikrest were invited to play on that album. Chris Eckman (member of Dirtmusic and The Walkabouts
) also produced Adagh, Tamikrest's debut. In 2010, both bands toured Europe together and played festivals like Sziget and Orange Blossom Special, the latter organized by their label Glitterhouse Records
. In October 2010, Chris Eckman produced Tamikrest's second album Toumastin, which was released in April 2011.
Their music is characterized by electric guitars and vocals, youyous, bass, drums, djembé and other percussion instruments.
Band History
When Tamikrest was founded in 2006, the musicians were all in their early twenties. They originate from the region around Kidal, a city in the northeast of MaliMali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. All of them visited the Les enfants de l'Adrar school in Tinzawaten
Tinzaouaten
Tinzaouaten is a Saharan oasis town in the far northeast of Mali, just 4.5 km from the Algerian border. A stop on the Trans-Saharan trade route for at least a thousand years, and garrison town under the French colonial regime, in 1999 Tinzaouaten had a population of 4000, of which 1600 are...
, a small oasis in the middle of the desert, which was funded by European foundations. It was there that the future members of Tamikrest got their basic musical training. Their youth was shaped by the civil war that took place between 1990 and 1995. Many family members and friends died while the Tuareg fought for their autonomy. When new riots broke out in 2006, Ousmane Ag Mossa and his friend Cheick Ag Tiglia decided not to fight with weapons, but to call attention to the Tuareg’s cause with musical means.
In their youth they played the traditional music of the Kel Tamasheq (as the Tuareg call themselves) and the songs of the Tuareg band Tinariwen
Tinariwen
Tinariwen is a band of Tuareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed around 1979 in refugee camps in Libya but returned to Mali after a cease-fire in the 1990s...
, who already mixed African traditional music with western rock music in the eighties. Through the internet and mp3 culture, the Tamikrest members got to know bands and musicians like Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
who influenced the shaping of the special Tamikrest sound as well.
A chance meeting with the American-Australian band Dirtmusic at the Festival Au Désert in 2008, which took place in Essakane
Essakane
Essakane is a rural commune and village of the Cercle of Goundam in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. The commune includes around 16 small settlements. The small village of Essakane is around 70 kilometers west of the town of Timbuktu...
(about 50 miles west of Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
), led to a friendship and musical cooperation. When Dirtmusic recorded their second album, BKO, in a studio in Bamako
Bamako
Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
(the capital of Mali) in 2010, Tamikrest were invited to play on that album. Chris Eckman (member of Dirtmusic and The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1984. The core members are vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman...
) also produced Adagh, Tamikrest's debut. In 2010, both bands toured Europe together and played festivals like Sziget and Orange Blossom Special, the latter organized by their label Glitterhouse Records
Glitterhouse Records
Glitterhouse Records is an independent record label based in Beverungen, Germany. The label specialises in the alternative country genre, and has released material by artists such as 16 Horsepower, The Walkabouts, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Hazeldine, Helldorado, The Shivers and Tom Liwa, but has...
. In October 2010, Chris Eckman produced Tamikrest's second album Toumastin, which was released in April 2011.
Discography
- 20102009 in musicThe following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
: Adagh (Glitterhouse Records) - 2011 : Toumastin (Glitterhouse Records)