Etran de L’Aïr. Photo by Abdoulmoumouni Hamid.
Etran de L'Aïr have been staples of the Agadez, Niger wedding circuit for over a quarter-century, but they've never toured outside their home country. That will change Friday when they play Smedjan in Tollered, Sweden, their first stop of 28 on a month-long trip across Europe.
Today, on the eve of their journey, they announced Agadez, their second album with Sahel Sounds, the Portland-based label that introduced Mdou Moctar — as well as the 10 other Saharan artists currently on its roster — to western ears. Like Moctar, Eltran's sound is a confluence of electric blues and Tuareg traditions. But whereas Moctar has drawn comparisons to western guitar gods such as Jimi Hendrix and Prince, Eltran's music has a more pan-African feel, deftly blending elements of Congolese Soukous with the Hausa and Malian blues styles native to the northern region of the continent.
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The band has as few as five and as many as nine members at any given moment in time, all of them brothers and cousins. Their first record, 2018's No. 1, was recorded live outside their family abode, and the sessions for Agadez took place in a mobile studio brought inside the compound. Even as they leave behind their familiar mountains — the "Stars of the Air" to which the group owes its name — to embark on their first international tour, their music and message will remain close to home.
Watch Etran de L'Aïr perform Agadez' lead single "Toubouk Ine Chihoussay" live above, and view their European tour dates below.
Etran de L’Aïr tour dates
11/5 - Tollered, SE - Smedjan
11/6 - Gothenburg, SE - Folkteatern @ Clandestino
11/7 - Borås, SE - Bibliotek
11/8 - Malmo, SE - Plan B
11/9 - Copenhagen, DK - Musikhuset
11/10 - Aalborg, DK - Studenterhuset
11/11 - Odense, DK - Resonator
11/13 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who
11/14 Leiden, NL - De X
11/15 Amsterdam, NL - Occii
11/16 - Brussels, BE - Les Ateliers Claus
11/17 - Paris, FR - Instants Chavirés
11/18 - Antwerp, BE - Het Bos
11/19 - Eeklo, BE - N9
11/20 - Cologne, DE - Jaki Stadtgarten
11/21 - Offenbach, DE - Hafen2
11/23 - Lyon, FR - Grrrnd Zero
11/24 - Dijon, FR Les Lentillères
11/25 - Nantes, FR - Le Lieu Unique
11/28 - Prague, CZ - Meet Factory
11/29 - Innsbruck, AT Treibhaus
12/1 - Rosans, FR - Des Oreilles aux Orteils
12/2 - Marseille, FR - L'Embobineuse
12/3 - Geneve, CH - Face Z Festival
12/4 - St.Gallen, CH - Palace
12/5 - Basel, CH - Kaserne
12/6 - Zurich, CH - Moods
12/7 - Düdingen, CH - Bad Bonn