Womad

Terakaft

New project from Tinariwen co-founders

Terakaft means 'the caravan' in the Tamashek tongue and it's certainly been a journey for this gang of electric guitar-brandishing desert rebels to make it to this point. Co-founder Kedou, a hero in his own land thanks to his part in the Touareg rebellion, was part of Tinariwen when they performed at the first Festival In The Desert in January 2001, and played on their first album, The Radio Tisdas Sessions, before leaving to live in Algeria and Libya before finally returning to Kidal in Mali's northern reaches. Along with Terakaft's other founder, Diara (another original member of Tinariwen) and two young guitarists, Sanou and Rhissa, the four performed their first concert at 2007's Festival In The Desert. The title of their most recent release, Akh Issudar, comes from an old Touareg proverb which goes "Aman iman, akh issudar" ("Water is life, milk is survival") and offers a brand of rock'n'roll and blues-tinged abrasiveness similar to Tinariwen's defiant desert sounds.

Biog by Rob Williams