The bass player, composer and songwriter with Malian ‘desert blues’ band Tinariwen talks about his first guitar, instability in Mali and his hopes for an autonomous Tuareg territory.
What’s your earliest memory?
Listening to tinde in Mali. Tinde is a traditional Tuareg music with percussion and female vocals. I also remember when I got my first guitar. I have an uncle who said to me, ‘If you can sing one of Tinariwen’s songs [the original band formed in 1979], I will offer you a guitar.’ I remember just singing the song and getting my first guitar.
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