Tinariwen tops TWMC’s August 2023 Chart with Amatssou

The TWMC offers a platform for world music writers, DJs and other specialists to vote for their favourite albums. Unlike traditional popularity-based charts, it takes into consideration talent, merit and cultural significance.

Tinariwen’s 12-track project, which previously ranked at number 40, unseats Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara’s London Ko, which topped the chart last month and currently sits at No 4.

Released on 19 May, Amatssou is Tinariwen’s ninth album. The LP’s title translates from Tamashek to English as “beyond the fear”, and incorporates elements of country rock, bluegrass, American folk and psychedelic music. 

In a June interview with OkayAfrica, the band stated that the album reflects its concerns about the evolving political situation in the Sahel region, adding that Amatssou contains songs that pay tribute to the deceased and others that underscore the importance of solidarity in the face of adversity.

Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté’s The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere maintains the second position, while Bokanté’s History secures the No 3 position. Nigerian Afrobeat band BANTU’s What Is Your Breaking Point? occupies the No 5 spot, up from No 11.

Damir Imamović’s The World and All That It Holds follows at No 6 as Ali Farka Touré’s Voyageur claims the seventh position, with Omara Portuondo’s Vida and Saîdê Goyî’s Jinê at eighth and ninth, respectively. Blick Bassy’s Madiba rounds up the top 10.

Other notable entries include Baaba Maal’s Being at No 14, V.A.’s Taa! Our Language May Be Dying, but Our Voices Remain at No 31, and Okwy Osadebe and Highlife SoundMakers International’s Igbo Amaka at No 39. The chart also includes Pausis’ eponymous collection at No 33 and Tri Nguyen’s Duos Alone at No 40.