Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on November 11, 2025
The young singer from northern Mali, Hamouna Isewlan, announces the release of his new album, Təlle Talyadt, available from November 28, 2025.
A Cry from the Heart Carried by the Desert Winds
The young artist from northern Mali, Hamouna Isewlan, will unveil his new album Təlle talyaḍt (“Love Exists”) starting November 28, 2025. Sung in Tamasheq and Arabic, this work is deeply rooted in the Saharan lands of northern Mali.
Son of a camel herder, Hamouna was schooled in the desert’s foundational forms — Iswat, the men’s poetic call-and-response tradition, and Tindé, the women-led mortar-drum repertoire that anchors community gatherings.
In the early 2000s he began building his own instruments from jerry cans and wooden boards, reflecting the Teshoumara spirit of guitar-led desert blues and social resistance. Like many Malian musicians, he apprenticed at Bamako weddings, learning to hold a crowd for hours. His style — desert blues meeting nomadic rhythms and Saharan melody — marks him as a distinctive voice in today’s Saharan music.
After performing at marriages from 2006 onward, he co-founded Aratan Nakal in 2010. They were the first to tour Mali’s occupied north after 2012, taking real risks — at one point caught in an armed ambush.
More recently, he has pursued his own project, Isewlan (“Mountains of the Desert”), drawing inspiration from towering figures: Tinariwen, Ali Farka Touré, Aboubacar Traoré “Karkar”, Mark Knopfler, and R.E.M., as well as his late uncle Chamaye, a singer-songwriter who recorded in the 1990s. This heritage — part family lineage, part artistic pilgrimage — shapes an art that balances tradition with deliberate experiment.
Exiled today in Algeria, driven away by the instability that grips Mali, Hamouna transforms the pain of exile into a creative force. From the dunes of Timbuktu to those of Tessalit, his life as a free nomad has been profoundly disrupted, yet his art emerges stronger.
With the ten tracks of Təlle talyaḍt, recorded at Studio Tamba in Bamako by Adama Kouyaté and brought to life by top-tier musicians such as Lamine Soumano, the late Dramane Touré, and Makan Camara, Hamouna delivers a powerful message of love, peace, and national unity. Through his music, he builds bridges between the peoples of the desert, between personal sorrow and collective memory, turning each song into a breath of hope.
The artist concludes his work with these words, which resonate as a lesson in wisdom and resilience:
“Be like a star that gazes upon the water’s surface when it rises,
and not like the smoke that lifts itself toward the layers of the sky when it falls.”
Song Descriptions
1 – War hi toyyed: the heartfelt cry of a man in love, pleading with his partner not to leave him. Aware that life and love are not always easy, he reminds us that it is often after the storm that the rain comes — a symbol of calm and renewal.
2 – Allatimin: tells of the imminent end of a love story, despite the desperate attempts of the lover to save the relationship. He reflects on the precious lessons learned and the joyful moments shared through this love, pleading with his beloved not to leave him in this way. Parting from someone you truly love is a painful ordeal.
3 – Agg Adduniya: highlights the choice of solitude and caution in a world where betrayal, hypocrisy, and malice undermine communal life and weaken social cohesion. Driven by personal interests, many do not hesitate to play a double game and resort to deceit to achieve their goals, often at the expense of collective balance.
4 – Təlle Talyadt: melodiously conveys the artist’s deep feelings for a woman he loves with all his heart. His heart beats for her, and he is willing to do anything — even make the greatest sacrifices — to share his life by her side.
5 – Lamna lahla: a genuine declaration of love, capturing the intense emotions of a passionate heart. It evokes a wandering spirit, steeped in memories and nostalgia, reliving every moment spent alongside the beloved.
6 – Tarha nin toyy hi: literally means “My love has left me” in Tamashek. This song expresses the pain of a romantic breakup and the emptiness it leaves in the daily life of the one who suffers.
7 – Tənhay titt in: the poignant testimony of a person, tears in their eyes, who has witnessed much suffering in human and professional relationships. Through its lyrics, the song explores the pains of love, friendship, brotherhood, and other bonds that too often end in deep disappointment.
8 – Layla Layla: conveys the farewell words of a lover forced to leave the place where he found love for a new destination. Through this song, he expresses with melancholy the pain of separation — a sorrow that will remain forever etched in memory.
9 – Anna mani nasan: draws us into the torments of a sleepless night, marked by argument, disappointment, and pain within a couple. Despite the heavy atmosphere and the thoughts that overwhelm him, the artist finds the strength to wish goodnight to his beloved, aware that the night will be long and filled with reflection.
10 – Tamidit in: expresses the artist’s deep love for a beautiful mixed-race woman with captivating eyes. She is the love of his life — a rare gem in the world, of inestimable and unique value.
About Remote Records / Studio Mali
Over the past year, Remote Records co-produced Heritage with Songhoy Blues (Transgressive) and is preparing new projects with Afel Bocoum — whose album Linde, co-produced with Nick Gold and Damon Albarn, achieved international chart success — as well as upcoming releases with Nonesuch Records. The label is also producing new music with Mariam Bagayoko, recipient of the 2025 Aga Khan Music Award.
In its catalog, Remote Records has released Tanou by Adama Yalomba and is preparing releases by Saly Kouyaté (niece of Bassékou Kouyaté and cousin of Kankou Kouyaté) and the Orchestre des Stars de l’INA (National Institute of Arts, Mali). Remote Records not only promotes exceptional talent but also fosters the growth of the African music industry and preserves precious musical traditions.
Purchases help fund research documenting vital musical traditions in increasingly isolated areas due to insecurity and extremism. Remote Records serves as a workshop where young interns learn essential skills to excel in music production, engineering, and cultural preservation.
