Imarhan announces new album, Essam

“We tried something we’d never done before; we took some risks. Music allows us the freedom to try new things," says vocalist Iyad Moussa Ben Abderahmane (Sadam) of the forthcoming album. Since forming in 2006, the band — formed of bassist Tahar Khaldi, guitarists Hicham Bouhasse and Abdelkader Ourzig, and percussionist Haiballah Akhamouk alongside Sadam — have released three albums which offer their contemporary interpretations of Tuareg music.

Essam — which means “lightning” in the Tuareg language Tamasheq — follows Imarhan's 2022 album Aboogi. Recorded at Aboogi Studio in southern Algeria, the themes of the new album are influenced by the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the political instability along the Algerian-Malian border. “The refugees, the suffering, the hope - we feel all of it. But life is beautiful, even in its darker moments," Sadam notes.

Imarhan have also announced a UK/EU headline tour taking place next year, which will include stops in Manchester (18 March), Leeds (19 March), London (21 March), and Cardiff (22 March).