Imarhan streaming 2 songs off 'Temet,' announce US tour
Tinariwen associates (and former Kurt Vile tourmates) Imarhan are following their 2016 self-titled debut a new album, Temet, on February 23 via City Slang. It was produced by the band with help from Tinariwen’s Eyadou Ag Leche and Tinariwen producer Patrick Votan, and like Tinariwen, they play a type of Tuareg music which is pretty similar in sound to what Americans and Brits call “psychedelic rock.” They sing in the Tamashek language, and of this new album, the band says, “We want children to be educated, to develop a mindset that will protect what is left of this community because I’ve come to the conclusion that everything has an end and everything evolves. Even the Tamashek language is gradually disappearing. (…) Even we’re confronted with this issue, but we’re fighting to preserve it.It’s the music that keeps us connected to the language, and allows us to continue speaking it.”
So far two singles are out from the album, “Azzaman” and “Ehad Wa Dagh,” both of which are groovy, hypnotic and just flat-out awesome. Any rock fan would dig, no matter what language you speak. Watch the videos for both songs (directed by Visions Particulières) below. The band are also subject of filmmaker Vincent Moon’s new documentary, Children of Tam, which makes its premiere at the ongoing Clermont Ferrand Film Festival in France. You can watch an outtake from that documentary featuring Imarhan playing Temet song “Ma S-Abok” below as well.
The band were recently announced for some cool festivals, including Knoxville, TN’s Big Ears, Austin’s Levitation, and the UK’s End of the Road. They now announced a US tour surrounding Big Ears and Levitation.
The tour includes NYC shows on May 2 at Rough Trade and May 3 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center show is FREE (info here), and tickets for the Rough Trade show go on sale Friday (2/9) at noon. All US dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. Azzaman
2. Tamudre
3. Ehad Wa Dagh
4. Alwa
5. Imuhagh
6. Tumast
7. Tarha Nam
8. Tochal
9. Zinizjumegh
10. Ma S-Abok
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Imarhan — 2018 Tour Dates
MARCH
22-25 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival
APRIL
19 – Santa Barbara, CA – KCSB
20 – San Francisco, CA – Elbo Room
21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
22 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
27 – Austin, TX – Levitation Festival
28 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
29 – Atlanta, GA – The EARL
30 – Asheville, NC – The Mothlight
MAY
02 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
03 – New York, NY – The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
04 – Philadelphia, PA – West Kensington Ministry
05 – Columbus, OH – Spacebar
06 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Warhol
07 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean
08 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Center
