Terakaft (MLI)
Terakaft leader Liya Ag Ablil (aka Diara) is known for his fierce and passionate electric guitar style which was a key element in the original line-up of Tinariwen, with whom he played for twenty years, stepping back when the iconic Tuareg rockers started touring internationally to join his nephew Sanou and Kedou, another original Tinariwen member, in Terakaft (meaning 'caravan' in Tamasheq). Kedou left in 2008 and Sanou's younger brother Abdallah took over as bassist.
The band's sound is lean and compelling with Diara's glittering riffs swirling around loping rhythm guitar and insistent bass lines as they sing of the Tuareg way of life and the struggles to maintain it.
Their fourth album, Kel Tamasheq, has been crossing borders to communicate the Tuareg cause to the world.