Word of Tinariwen, or rather one of its members, first spread in 2001 when Lo'Jo played a festival in Mali. When the sound system was stolen en route to the festival site, Tinariwen guitarist Kheddou--a celebrated desert warrior--found the bandits and made them give it back. The band actually formed in 1982 in Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's rebel camp, but these desert warriors soon concentrated on their Malian homeland. As with their countrymen Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traoré, there is a direct line between Tinariwen's desert songs and the blues. Composed of six guitarists-vocalists, a percussionist, and three backup singers, the group plays hypnotic blues figures that fit nicely next to galloping local rhythms. The singers take turns telling their stories, often in call-and-response style. --Tad Hendrickson