Tinariwen and José González

Soundcrash presents a one-off joint headline show for the desert soul rebels Tinariwen and cosmopolitan folk singer/songwriter José González. An utterly unique night of musical excellence you don’t want to miss.

You’ve got to be doing something right when you can count amongst your fans the likes of Thom Yorke, Brian Eno, Carlos Santana or TV On The Radio. Formed in rebel training camps in Libya, these exiled nomads-turned-rockstars of the Sahara have become the soundtrack for Touareg independence and reconciliation, combining traditional Touareg melodies with Malian, Western, Berber and Arabic influences to create spare, evolving, hypnotic grooves. As if Keith Richards, Santana, John Lee Hooker, various members of Primal Scream, Mogwai and the Grateful Dead had got lost in the Sahara for a decade and then returned as a fully-fledged desert band.

José González, whose family fled their Argentinian homeland bound for Sweden when the military Junta came into power, provides a perfect counterpoint to the hypnotic relentlessness of Tinariwen’s grooves. Being exposed to latin-american melodies from an early age and drawing from the idiosyncrasies of Scandinavian folk José González’s music is a unique hybrid which takes the best of both worlds. Both poignantly beautiful and subtly warm, José González will win over your heart and mind.

Concerts don’t get any better than this. Two hugely reknowned acts come together for the first and only time tonight at The Shepherd’s Bush Empire for a very, very special show. Be there.