Tinariwen are a critically acclaimed Saharan Tuareg group who perform a guitar-centric branch of Malian music known as "Tishoumaren," a percussive, rock-oriented desert blues that often addresses social and political issues. Emerging out of the refugee and rebel camps of Algeria and Libya, the collective built a regional audience throughout the 1980s and returned to Mali in the '90s; they eventually earned global recognition with their first internationally released album, 2001's The Radio Tisdas Sessions. Tinariwen then became a highly touted international touring act, playing major festivals like WOMAD, Glastonbury, and Coachella and winning a Grammy Award for their 2011 album Tassili, on which they collaborated with various Western musicians. The group continued to release innovative new music throughout the decade, including 2019's Amadjar. After reissuing their rare official first album, 1991's Kel Tinariwen, the band offered the country-influenced Amatssou in 2023.