With their fourth album, Essam (lightning in the Tuareg language of Tamasheq), Imarhan forge ahead once again, creating a watershed moment in Tuareg music.

The lead single “Derhan N’Oulhine” showcases this fearless experimentation, blending desert-rock roots with subtle electronic textures and folk motifs, anchored by a blues-inflected guitar that occasionally bursts into resonant riffs. Its accompanying video, directed by Elsa Pennachio on 8mm Bolex, mirrors the album’s creation: traditional techniques and analogue processing produce a hybrid, timeless aesthetic. Film overprints, modular synth effects, and live recordings reflect both the beauty and tension of Tuareg life, caught between heritage and global modernity.

Essam’s result is hypnotic yet open, recognizably Tuareg yet unmistakably modern: the voice of Tamanrasset in motion, shaping its own future.

Imarhan on tour:
Oct 18 Toulouse, FR – Le Métronum
Nov 04 Budapest, HU – House Of Music
Nov 14 Redon, FR – Le Carré 9
Nov 15 Le Blanc Mesnil, FR – Espace Culturel Musique et Danse
Mar 18 Manchester, UK – Band On The Wall
Mar 19 Leeds, UK – Old Woolen
Mar 20 Brighton, UK – Shoreham
Mar 21 London, UK – 229
Mar 22 Cardiff, UK – Acapella
Mar 23 Falmouth, UK – The Cornish Bank
Mar 24 Bury St Edmunds, UK – Apex
Mar 26 Paris, FR – Trabendo
Mar 27 Alençon, FR – La Luciole TBC
Mar 28 Plougastel-Daoulas, FR – Espace Culturel Avel Vor
Apr 09 Amsterdam, NL – Paradisio
Apr 10 Middelburg, NL – De Spot