Leave it to Stephen Colbert to bring a crowd together – an eclectic one at that, too. Last night, Malian collective Tinariwen came “to rock the gourd” and also sat down to talk shop with Colbert. Although Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Eyadou Ag Leche had to use a translator (named Lola) to connect with the Comedy Central goldmine, they did have support from recent collaborators Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio. In fact, both Adebimpe and Malone joined them on a performance of “Tenere Taqqim Tossam”, off this year’s Tassili. As Harley Brown recently wrote, “There are, literally, almost no words to describe Tinariwen’s performance…” So, be sure to check it all out below, including an online-only cut of “Imidiwan Ma Tenam”.

Interview:

“Tenere Taqqim Tossam”:

“Imidiwan Ma Tenam”:

Out August 30th on ANTI- Records, the followup to 2009′s Imidiwan: Companions is titled Tassili. The band brought in some special guests to record the full-length — that is, somewhere in the southeastern Algerian Desert — including TV on the Radio vocalists Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. Dirty Dozen Brass Band handled the horn section for the record, while Wilco’s chief ax man Nels Cline also chipped in to add what guitars were necessary. Tinariwen made it a point not to focus on electric guitars, relying more on acoustics and unamplified percussion.

In the month preceding the release of Tassili, be sure to look out for Tinariwen’s North American tour. The band will visit America after two upcoming gigs in Europe, hitting stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, California, Seattle, and New York. The itinerary also includes three festivals, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival on July 17th, and finally NYC’s GrassRoots fest before Tinariwen heads back to Europe. The extensive international tour, featuring dates in Europe, Japan, and North America, lasts through the end of the year when Tinariwen will appear at the Jeff Magnum-curated ATP UK festival. Take a look at Tinariwen’s upcoming calendar below.

Tinariwen 2011 Tour Dates:
06/28 – Paris, FR @ Theatre des Bouffes du Nord
07/02 – Comblain-La-Tour, BE @ Comblain Jazz Festival
07/07 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
07/08 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
07/09-10 – Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Festival
07/12 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
07/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
07/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club
07/16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
07/17 – Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Folk Music Festival
07/20 – New York, NY @ HighLine Ballroom
07/21 – New York, NY @ GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance
07/23 – Valence, FR @ Valence Festival
07/24 – Meze, FR @ Festival de Thau
07/27 – Budapest, HU @ Zöld Paron
07/29 – Berlin, DE @ Haus der Kulturen der Welt
07/31 – Nigata Prefecture, JP @ Fuji Rock
08/27 – Rio de Janeiro, BR @ Back to Black Festival
09/03 – Birmingham, UK @ Moseley Folk Festival
09/04 – North Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/21 – Paris, FR @ 104
09/25 – Ljubljana, SI @ Krizanke Amphitheater
09/26 – Zagreb, HR @ Aquarius Club
09/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Ooh La L.A!
10/05 – Magny-Le-Hongre, FR @ File 7
10/06 – Cologne, DE @ Philharmonie
10/07 – Blois, FR @ Halle Aux Grains
10/08 – Begles, FR @ Rendez-vous des Terres Neuvese
10/09 – Laval, FR @ 6 par 4
10/11 – Lyon, FR @ Ninkasi Kao
10/12 – Poitiers, FR @ Théâtre Scène Nationale
10/13 – Nanterre, FR @ Maison de la Musique
10/15 – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
10/16 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
10/18 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/19 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/20 – Mannheim, DE @ Alte Feuerwache
10/21 – Berlin, DE @ Kesselhaus
10/22 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
10/23 – Wroc?Aw, PL @ Eter Club
10/27 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
11/18 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
12/04 – Minehead, UK @ ATP UK Curated by Jeff Magnum

First, as expected, Liars have announced a batch of North American dates in support of the March 9th release. So far, 10 dates are confirmed (more TBA), with the fun scheduled to launch on April 10th in Los Angeles. A plane ride to the East Coast follows before the band finds itself back on the West Coast at the end of April. Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster.com.

Second, as totally unexpected, the band has also announced details of an expanded edition of Sisterworld. Get this, the version comes with a second CD of remixes and reinterpretations of the album’s 11 tracks from artists including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, Melvins, Suicide’s Alan Vega, Throbbing Gristle’s Chris & Cosey, and Blonde Redhead. Yeah, woah.

Says frontman Angus Andrew: “On this project we wanted to help develop and expand the role of the remix, particularly to engage artists less acknowledged for their work in the field. They were asked to ‘re-interpret’ the song by any means necessary and the result is definitely the most exciting collaborative effort we’ve been involved in.” We bet.

Liars 2010 Tour Dates:
04/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre *
04/14 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *
04/15 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
04/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
04/17 – Boston, MA @ Paradise *
04/18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
04/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s *
04/29 – Portland, OR @ Hawthrone Theatre *
04/30 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue *
05/01 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *

* = w/ Fol Chen

Now, a preview of the release has come in the form of a six minute, dark track by the name of “Pray For Rain”, which features none-other than TV on the Radio vocalist Tunde Adebimpe. For your listening pleasure, the track is available for stream below. As expected, the thing is cut from blips and bleeps, tom rolls, and all those prettily scary things that make us all love Trip Hop! It’s an epic builder, and Adebimpe shines his ass off, as he usually does. Here ya go: