Tuareg band Tamikrest has reached No. 1 on the June World Music Charts Europe with its sixth studio album, Assikel, released by Glitterbeat Records. The album marks a new chapter for the group, which has spent two decades amplifying the culture and experiences of the Kel Tamasheq people of the Sahara.
Recorded live to analog tape over 10 days at Tone Boutique Studio in Haarlem, Netherlands, Assikel adopts a stripped-back approach that emphasizes spontaneity and performance. Meanwhile, the album continues Tamikrest’s long-standing focus on themes of exile, displacement, and resilience amid Mali’s ongoing political and security crisis.
The album combines Ishumar rock, traditional influences and a touch of Americana through the use of steel guitar. The record features collaborations with poet Mahmoud Ag Ahmouden, Belgian musician Wouter Van Asselbergh and Tinariwen founder Ibrahim Ag Alhabib.
Tamikrest band members: Ousmane Ag Mossa: lead vocals, electric & acoustic guitar; Cheikh Ag Tiglia: bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, jembe, percussion; Paul Salvagnac: electric guitar, lapsteel, dobro, tumba tumba; and Cédric Momo Maurel: calabash, dhol, bendhir, tumba tumba, jembe, tube.
The band’s discography includes: Adagh (2010), Toumastin (2011), Chatma (2013), Kidal (2017), Tamotait (2020).
June 2026 List:
- Tamikrest (Mali) – Assikel – Glitterbeat
- The Klezmatics (USA) – We Were Made For These Times – Asphalt Tango Records
- BCUC (South Africa) – The Road Is Never Easy – Outhere Records
- Yiddish Glory (Canada) – The Silenced Songs – Six Degrees
- Souad Massi (Algeria) – Zagate – Backing Track
- Peter Somuah (Ghana) – Walking Distance – ACT
- Cheikh Ibra Fam (Senegal) – Adouna – Cumbancha
- Tinariwen (Mali) – Hoggar – Wedge
- Suistamon Sähkö (Finland) – Lunta Tupaan – Playground Music
- Divka (Canada) – Folk Fatale – Self Released
- Kareyce Fotso (Cameroon) – Gwa – Contre-Jour
- Robinson Khoury Mya (France) – Transara – ACT
- Mahan Mirarab (Iran) – Unspoken – ACT
- Nuevos Rios (Colombia/France) – Nuevos Rios – ZZK Records
- Katalena (Slovenia) – Meja – ZARŠ
- Dorea (Brazil) – O Que Mais Voce Quer Saber De Mim? – Ajabu!
- Dub Colossus (UK/Ethiopia) – Dub Will Keep Us Together – Real World
- Mariana Sadovska & Vesna (Ukraine/Germany) – You Should Live! – CPL-Music
- Cocanha (France) – Flame Folclore – Bongo Joe
- Raül Refree & Maria Mazzotta (Spain/Italy) – San Paolo Di Galatina – Galileo
More about the World Music Charts Europe: wmce.de
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central