“There’s nowhere in Agadez we haven’t played,” declares Etran De L’Aïr member Moussa ‘Abindi’ Ibra, who was nine years old when his band formed in the Saharan city. “We play for the Tuareg, the Toubou, the Zarma, the Hausa,” Abindi continues. “When you invite us, we come and play.” The family band have been playing together since 1995, and – much like The Wire 456 cover stars Mdou Moctar, also based in Agadez – their music is omnipresent in the community, what with their relentless schedule of performances at outdoor weddings, all open to the public.

Etran De L’Aïr's second album Agadez was recorded in a “rapid-fire” recording session, to capture the energy of the exhaustive parties they perform at, and in line with their especially fast style of playing Tuareg guitar.

“Whereas other Tuareg guitarists look to Western rock,” notes Sahel Sounds label head Christopher Kirkley, “Etran De L’Aïr play in a pan-African style that is emblematic of their hometown, citing a myriad of cultural influences, from Northern Malian blues, Hausa bar bands, to Congolese Soukous.”




Etran De L’Aïr's Agadez is released by Sahel Sounds on 18 February