Etran Finatawa is a
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
-based band, formed in 2004 during the
Festival au Désert near
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census.
...
,
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
. The music of Etran Finatawa blends the traditional music of the
Wodaabe and
Tuareg people with western instruments such as the electric guitar.
Since 2005 they have toured extensively in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. In 2007, their debut album ''Introducing Etran Finatawa'' (2006) was nominated for a BBC Radio Award for World Music. They released their follow-up, ''Desert Crossroads'', in 2008, and in 2010 released ''Tarkat Tajje/Let's Go''. In 2013, the band released their fourth album, ''The Sahara Sessions''.
The name of the band means "the stars of tradition".
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''Introducing Etran Finatawa'' (2006)
* ''Desert Crossroads'' (2008)
* ''Tarkat Tajje/Let's Go'' (2010)
* ''The Sahara Sessions'' (2013)
;Contributing artist
* ''
The Rough Guide to Desert Blues'' (2010,
World Music Network)
* ''
The Rough Guide to Acoustic Africa'' (2013, World Music Network)
* ''Etran'' - song by
Disclosure (2020)
References
Etran Finatawa: Niger's Nomadic Blues NPR feature on Etran Finatawa
Nigerien musical groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Tuareg culture
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