| The TUAREG are a nomadic camel herding culture which has dominated the Sahara for over a thousand years. They are intensely proud of their traditions. Traditional Tuareg music is based on the rhythm of the camel and was used to tell stories and inspire the camels to dance at the festivals. In the 60’s the Tuareg warriors who had always been poets began to play the guitar . During these years the Tuareg were suffering from famine brought about by droughts and government oppression. The younger generation went into exile to find work. They were known as the Ishomar from the french word for unemployed. While in exile they organized a rebellion. When they returned to their country it was to fight for the survival of their culture. Their weapons were guns and music The group Tidawt, meaning together, was started by Hasso Akotey in Niger in 1994. Tidawt has performed internationally at Paris at the Exposition Tuareg 1996, Festival Cote d’Armor 1997, Coup d’ Afrique Burkina Faso 1998, Festival a Lisle 1999. Festival Asihar in Algeria, 1999, 2001 Festival Timasinen Algeria 2001, Fespaco in Burkina Faso 2000, Afrika Festival in Germany, 2003 Essakane Festival au Desert 2003, American Tour for the Nomad Foundation 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2007. They played for the opening of “The Art of Being Tuareg”, the first major US museum exhibit on the Tuareg which opened at the Fowler museum UCLA in 2006 and at Stanford in May 2007. In 2006 they were invited to be a part of the project “Stones World” and recorded with the Rolling Stones band at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. In 2007 they played with Mickey Hart at Slim’s in San Francisco. Their first CD will be released in 2008. The traditional costumes of a Tidawt performance are visually stunning. The iridescent Indigo turbans turn their skin blue. Because of this, the Tuareg are known as the Blue men of the desert. The group are devoted to the guitar, their music and the preservation of their culture. This is evidenced by the tours Tidawt has done to raise consciouness and funds for their people through the projects of the Nomad Foundation. Together, they are committed to the survival of the rich Tuareg culture. Once again their people are in rebellion. The nomads are losing their ancestral lands to uranium development and once again they must fight to survive. The music of Tidawt gives them courage. |
Recording with Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, Tim Reis and the Rolling Stones Band
From the dunes of the Sahara to the Capitol Records Studio in Los Angeles, November 2006. "Stones World" album to be released in September 2008.
Concert with Mickey Hart of THE GREATFUL DEAD
With Zakir Hussein and Markus James at Slim's in San Francisco May, 2007
