Athmane Bali

Athmane Bali was born in the breathtaking oasis of Djanet in the southeastern Algerian Sahara. Raised by his mother, an esteemed player of the traditional tendi drum, Bali mastered the Arabic oud, adapting the modal rhythms of the desert to the lute in an entirely original, hypnotic acoustic style.

Singing in Tamahaq and Arabic, Bali toured worldwide, collaborating with international stars like Steve Shehan. On June 17, 2005, following rare torrential rains in the Sahara, he was tragically swept away while driving across the flooded Oued Idjeriou in Djanet, mourned as an irreplaceable cultural treasure of the Sahara.