Tinariwen release new album Hoggar.

13.03.2026

Tuareg musical pioneers and Grammy Award–winners Tinariwen today release their tenth studio album, Hoggar via the band’s own label Wedge. On the album and more than 45 years into their storied career, the band return to the foundations of their sound.

Fierce advocates for their people’s nomadic culture that exists in the desert borderlands between Mali and Algeria, Tinariwen’s bluesy, guitar-driven music has found global acclaim over the past two decades for its lively blend of Tamasheq-language politicism, syncopated rhythms and soaring melody.

Today they share a stunning animated music video for ‘Erghad Afewo’, created by Axel Digoix, who also created the album’s cover artwork. The director had previously collaborated with the band in 2017 on the music videos for “Ténéré Tàqqàl” and “Nànnuflày.” Watch the video here.

The film tells the story of two Tuareg children who, in a desert silenced by censorship and conflict, grow up to become the voices of their people through a music they refuse to let be silenced. Directly inspired by the journey of the members of Tinariwen - marked by exile, marginalization, and resistance - the narrative reflects how the Tuareg people, deeply shaken by the crises affecting the Sahara, have found in music a way to survive, remain united, and make their voices heard.

Animation emerges here as a choice that is both poetic and necessary. It introduces a symbolic and fantastical dimension, bringing to life images that extend the energy of the music. It also responds to a very real constraint: today, security conditions make filming in certain Saharan regions - affected by conflicts and the presence of armed groups - virtually impossible.

Visually, the film adopts a style inspired by the western: vast desert landscapes, silent and resilient characters, an alternation between contemplative moments and more intense scenes, with a touch of humor. The aesthetic approach combines a spontaneous, raw drawing style with an evolving color palette that reflects emotions and the many faces of the desert. The project blends 2D animation, 3D, and photography in order to combine graphic spontaneity, rich textures, and freedom of staging.

Driven by the rock spirit and Tuareg defiance, the video thus becomes a true visual extension of Tinariwen’s music: an animated fresco where memory, resistance, and poetry meet.