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Music: Global

Tinariwen

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Music will set you free, or, in a perfect world, overthrow the entire government of Mali. Tinariwen are the musical gods of the Sahara, mythologized throughout Southern Africa as troubadour warriors. (The general notion seems to be that they roam the desert with electric guitars in one hand and AK-47s in the other.) The band was born when its members met in Muammar Qaddafi's labor camps in 1980s Libya; they are Tuareg, the native nomads of the great African desert. The music itself combines everything from Moroccan chaabi to the compositions of Mr. Kenny Rogers. Last year, they performed a studio showdown with the Arctic Monkeys, broadcast by the BBC; contrary to legend, they do not bring their guns to gigs, which must have been a relief to the Monkeys.

– Dan Halpern

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