Imidiwan: Companions, released 29 June 2009, is the fourth studio album by Tuareg band Tinariwen. The album saw the band reunite with Jean-Paul Romann, the producer of their 2001 album The Radio Tisdas Sessions. Some editions of the album include a DVD featuring a 30-minute documentary about the band.

Themes

Joe Tangari of Pitchfork discussed how the band experienced much of the world outside the desert and how it has influenced the new direction of this album. He said "lyrically the songs, sung in Tamashek, visit themes of liberation and cultural-historical pride". Later he stated that it contains assuf "an untranslatable word with implications of homesickness, loneliness, and sadness; it also refers to the nighttime world beyond the light of the campfire."

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews. The Guardian gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Tinariwen just keep on keepin' on, relentless and brilliant as the Saharan sun." The Daily Telegraph also gave the album 4 stars, saying that the band are "...the nearest thing the modern world provides to a real blues feel." Imidiwan also won the 2009 Uncut Music Award for being "the most inspiring and richly rewarding album of the last 12 months".

Track listing

Note: "Desert Wind," an instrumental, was included as a bonus track in some editions of the album.

Personnel

All information from album liner notes.