V2 records news – Tinariwen announces new album ‘hoggar’
TINARIWEN Announces New Album "Hoggar"
ALBUM OUT 13 MARCH
Single 'Sagherat Assani (Feat. Sulafa Elyas)' is out now
5 May Live @ AB, Brussels
Tinariwen - Sagherat Assani (Feat. Sulafa Elyas)
Tuareg musical pioneers and Grammy Award–winners Tinariwen today announce their tenth studio album, Hoggar, due out March 13 via the band's own label Wedge. On the album and more than 45 years into their storied career, the band return to the foundations of their sound. Fierce advocates for their people's nomadic culture that exists in the desert borderlands between Mali and Algeria, Tinariwen's bluesy, guitar-driven music has found global acclaim over the past two decades for its lively blend of Tamasheq-language politicism, syncopated rhythms and soaring melody. On Hoggar, they now stake their claim as elders of this Tuareg musical tradition, going back to their early years of songwriting with acoustic guitars and communal singing around the desert campfire, while also passing the torch onto a younger generation of featured musicians who can continue to keep the flame of rebellion and defiance alive.

Alongside the announcement, Tinariwen also share Hoggar's first single, "Sagherat Assan," a traditional Sudanese song featuring soulful, melismatic vocals from Sudanese artist Sulafa Elyas.

"Sagherat Assan" is a traditional song carried from Sudan to the Sahara. Japonais (one of the band founders who died in 2021) and myself were in Al Kufrah (a city at the border between Sudan and Libya) in 1989. At that time, I was beginning to learn the guitar. We met a musician who was playing this song. We loved it so much that Japonais learned it, then played it again and again, allowing it to travel and endure. This version features Sulafa Elyas, an outstanding Sudanese singer and oud player now living in exile in France" Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni

"The female voice is very important in traditional Tuareg music but it is increasingly hard to find female singers today owing to restrictions placed on them being allowed to sing and train," says longtime collaborator and producer Patrick Votan. "We were lucky to find singers like Sulafa as well as Wonou Walet Sidati, who used to record and tour with Tinariwen in the past, and Nounou Kaola, who also feature on this album."

In support of Hoggar Tinariewen have confirmed a world-wide tour that kicks off next month in India.  Speaking about the absence of North American shows the band shared, "We were excited to bring our music to North America, but due to current travel restrictions, we won't be able to perform there as part of this tour. We know this is disappointing, and our team explored every possible option, but it was beyond our control. We look forward to returning to the U.S. as soon as we can and sharing our music with our fans there."  All current dates are listed below. 

Known for recording amid the windswept expanse of the Central Saharan desert, Tinariwen have long drawn inspiration from the rhythms of nature. With political unrest in Mali prompting the band to seek new spaces, founding members now based in Algeria recorded Hoggar in a studio set up by the next-generation Tuareg band Imarhan in the southern city of Tamanrasset, continuing their legacy of innovation and collaboration.

While previous records like 2023's Amatssou saw the group collaborate with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson producer Daniel Lanois, on Hoggar the band looked closer to home. Gathering with the local Tuareg musical community every day for a month, founding members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni and Touhami Ag Alhassane began penning songs of political unrest alongside younger artists like Imarhan's Iyad Moussa Ben Abderrahmane, Hicham Bouhasse  and Haiballah Akhamouk. The group also linked up with Sanou Ag Hamed, from the Tuareg band Terakaft, as well as collaborating with Tinariwen co-founder Liya ag Ablil, AKA Diarra, for the first time in 25 years. What emerged was a sense of reunion as well as an evolution of the Tinariwen sound.

Hoggar delivers 11 tracks of yearning emotion, intricate melodies, and the choral warmth of collective voices in powerful harmony. The album also marks several remarkable firsts: Tinariwen lead vocalists Ibrahim and Abdallah sing together for the first time in over 30 years, breaking from the tradition of each songwriter performing only their own compositions, and longtime fan José González makes a special guest appearance. Lyrically, Hoggar explores urgent and timely themes, addressing social and political challenges facing the Tuareg people and northern Mali. Tinariwen continue their long tradition of bearing witness through music, balancing the joy of their celebrated live shows with reflections on community struggles, resilience, and cultural preservation.

Ultimately, with Hoggar Tinariwen stand proud as cultural signifiers, much like the Tuareg mountainscape that erupts from the Central Saharan desert and that gives the record its title. A defiant marker of presence visible for miles, the Hoggar mountains are a symbol of a homeland for displaced people, while Tinariwen's music continues to make space for future generations of their song.

Tinariwen Live Dates 2026
05/05 – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique