Imarhan

South Algerian outfit Imarhan combine the traditional sounds of Tuareg music with a modern twist, incorporating elements of rock, jazz, and blues. Debuting in 2016 with their eponymous album, Imarhan, the group went on to become a driving force in the Tuareg music scene, delivering their third album, Aboogi, in early 2022. Formed in the city of Tamanrasset in 2006, Imarhan played a modern take on the traditional sounds of Tuareg music, which had been heralded internationally by fellow artists Tinariwen. Looking to the Western genres of jazz, rock, and blues, the group -- Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane aka Sadam, Tahar Khaldi, Hicham Bouhasse, Abdelkader Ourzig, and Haiballah Akhamouk -- settled on a sound that incorporated the local music that they had also grown up on, with a new twist. Imarhan eventually broke into the international scene when they signed to German label City Slang, for the release of their self-titled debut album in 2016. The album, which was produced by Tinariwen's Eyadou Ag Leche and recorded in France, the release broke the mold of Tuareg music that had come before it. Their sophomore album, Temet, came just two years later and once again saw them return to France to record. This time produced by Patrick Votan with Leche as executive producer, the album further cemented their reputation as the bright future of desert blues. Following its release, the group played numerous dates across Europe and the U.K. in support. By 2019 Imarhan had built their own recording facility in their home city of Tamanrasset. Named Aboogi, after the structures their nomadic ancestors used in settlements, the studio was the first of its kind in the city and would host and nurture numerous acts from across Algeria and beyond. For their third album (and their first to be recorded on home soil), the group once again furthered the Tuareg sound, collaborating with Sudanese singer Sulafa Elyas, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, local poet Mohamed Ag Itlale, and Tinariwen's Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Aboogi, named after their studios, was issued in early 2022, once again on City Slang.
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