Al Bilali Soudan: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

For the second consecutive year, NPR teamed up with globalFEST in January 2021 for a thrilling online music festival we call Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions hosted by African pop star Angélique Kidjo. Now, we're posting all the sets from our festival as individual Tiny Desk (home) concerts.

Bob Boilen | January 29, 2022
The family members of Al Bilali Soudan, from Timbuktu, Mali, are sought-after musicians and griots. Led by Abellow Yattara, the band is a torch-bearer of quintessentially Tamasheq (or Tuareg) music, shaped by a continuous exchange between the tehardent (lute), vocals and hand percussion. The words sung are similarly percussive, like an instrument themselves. This genre of music has been performed for half a millennium by Tuareg griots to celebrate the end of harvest and the changing seasons, heroic warriors and noble families. --The globalFEST staff

SET LIST
"Apolo"
"Djaba"

MUSICIANS
Abellaw Yattara: lead tehardent, vocals
Aboubacrine Yattara: bass tehardent
Mohamed Abellaw: tehardent, vocals
Ibrahim "Tchiale" Ag Aboubacrine: calabash
Hamadoun Guindo: calabash

CREDITS
Production: Christopher Nolan — Clermont Music
Audio: Yaya Diarra — Tadiazt
Audio Mastering: Dave Cook — Area 52 Studios
Direction: Mahadi "Kiss" Diouara — Millenium Communications
Special thanks: Abdallah Ag Amano — Tadiazt

Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST

Tiny Desk Team
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Maia Stern
Audio Mixing: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

globalFEST Artistic Team
Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin
2022 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, Gabrielle Davenport

globalFEST Production Team
Event Producer: Ian Thake
Producer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film*
Video Producer: Karim Tabbaa

Special Thanks
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, JanArtsNYC, Valerie French (social media), Yuri Kwon of Pitch Perfect PR (publicity), Tamizdat (legal services) and Duane Morris (legal services)

*THE OFFICE performing arts + film consists of Rachel Chanoff, Laurie Cearley, Olli Chanoff, Erica Zielinski, Nadine Goellner, Lynn Koek, Noah Bashevkin, Catherine DeGennaro, Gabrielle Davenport, Chloe Golding, Kyla Gardner, Tess Peppis, Zion Jackson, Scout Eisenberg and Jose Alvarado