Influenced for decades by western rock, Tinariwen, members of the nomadic culture of northern Mali, traded-in traditional stringed instruments for electric guitars to accompany their ornate vocal style.

Vieux Farka Touré, son of Mali's legendary guitarist Ali, combines the guitar style of his father with a passion for Western sounds; a reflection of spare, trancelike blues integrated with influences of reggae and rock.

"[Tinariwen's] language may be foreign to us, but anyone enamored of the blues hypnotism of John Lee Hooker or even Keith Richards -- let alone late Malian guitar star Ali Farka Toure -should warm to the band's rumbling grooves and jagged, circular riffs." - The Star-Ledger

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