National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Malian "desert rockers" Tinariwen return with a third international release, Aman Iman: Water Is Life, scheduled for worldwide release in January, 2007.

According to the group's management, the album will feature 12 new cuts recorded at Bogolan studios in Bamako, Mali, and was produced by American blues guitarist and Malian music aficionado Justin Adams. The album is slated for release on Independiente in the UK, Universal/ AZ in France, and "a network of labels and distributors worldwide."

Attendees of this year's WOMEX festival in Seville, Spain will get a special sneak preview of the album this October with a limited edition promo CD that will feature Aman Iman's
"Matadjem Yinmixam" and a special bonus single, "Taskiout," not found on the record.

Aman Iman: Water Is Life is Tinariwen's third release, following 2001's Radio Tisdas Sessions and 2004's Amassakoul, both of which helped establish the Tuareg guitar band as a favorite of the world music cognoscenti and the international festival circuit.