Tissilawen – “The Tassilis” in the Amazigh language Tamasheq – come from Djanet in southeastern Algeria, at the foot of the Tassili n’Ajjer massif. That stark and ancient landscape runs through everything they play: desert blues built on deep bass lines, electrifying guitar solos, and vocals in Tamasheq about their homeland, their people, and the bonds they share.
The group formed in 2008 when childhood friends and guitarists Bakrin Timlfati and Cheikh Taberni started playing together, with Tinariwen as their biggest source of inspiration. Like their predecessors, Tissilawen weave Tuareg musical tradition together with rock, blues, and backbeat. It’s hypnotic campfire music – layered harmonies, rolling riffs, and understated grooves.
Their most recent album Eyel came out in 2015, but they’ve kept pushing their sound forward with the singles Wagh Azaman (2025), Tamiditine (2025) and Amidinine (2024). Their Fasching debut in August brings that campfire feeling into our venue and sets the walls humming with desert blues.
LINEUP
Bakrin Timlfati – guitar, vocals
Cheikh Taberni – guitar, vocals
Smman Mefatih – percussion, vocals
Amine Laroug – guitar
Adnane Benaouicha – bass
