Kel Assouf

About

Kel Assouf means "from nostalgia" in Tamasheq language. The band was formed in 2006 by Anana Harouna, a Tuareg musician from Niger, when arriving in Brussels after a long exile. Since then he explored various styles and formulas gathering musicians from African and European countries. The band recorded three albums: three completely different stories, from tradition to deep rock.​ The last album 'Black Tenere', produced in 2019 on multi-award winning label Glitterbeat, is a milestone: African trance rhythms melted into the energy of vintage rock bring a significant new vibration in desert music. With one foot in the desert and the other in Europe, Anana sings about Sahara, Niger and Europe. The melodies and rhythms are directly inspired by Berber music. With a new minimalist power trio, surrounded by Olivier Penu on drums and Alan Van Rompuy on the keyboard, Anana Harouna's revolt against injustices is made explicit by the saturated voice of his guitar. Their rhythms move us to a dancefloor somewhere between Brussels and Niamey - a powerful groove machine !