Alone was born out of a need to maintain sanity in times of broken dreams and lies. It might be Terakaft's most rock-oriented album to date, but at the same time it is their most poetic. While their 2010 album Aratan N Azawad, and even their 2012 follow-up, Kel Tamasheq, found them still full of hope, in 2015 the soil that was supposed to blossom is burnt by selfishness and rivalry. "There are too many characters in the picture, too many chiefs and not enough people," says member Diara when asked about Mali's political development since the group's last album. He used to sing political songs in the days in his rebel youth, when he was still playing guitar with Tinariwen. Since then he has begun to watch a new feeling growing inside him: ténéré, which translates to "alone." In the days when Diara sat in the dunes drinking tea with high hopes for the future, singing songs into the night, his nephew Sanou would sit next to him, still a young boy. Occasionally the uncle would hand his guitar to the nephew, so he could play along with the others. Just before the international success story of Tinariwen started, Diara got stuck on his way to Bamako and his place in Tinariwen was taken. Meanwhile Sanou had set up his own band, Terakaft. Diara and Sanou are now the backbone of Terakaft; the guardians of desert blues. Diara is the spirit of the band, as strong as a rock. Sanou is the band's heart. He brings the life to its spirit. Diara, the elder, lays out heavy rhythms pulsing through his guitar. Sanou has become the natural heir to the sound of "assouf," with his intense rock riffs and an uplifting attitude toward life. Alone is Terakaft's fifth album. It was produced by Justin Adams, one of the musicians from Europe who has delved deep into Tuareg music. Adams is known as a musician and producer through his work with Robert Plant, Tinariwen, and Juldeh Camara. He has geared up "The Caravan" (as Terakaft's name translates) to reach new shores and hit the dancefloors. In these troubled times, they have made an album together that presents the deep Saharan rhythms as a vital contemporary heartbeat. Standing on the ruins of their people's dreams, they sing to their brothers and sisters about true friendship and tolerance. Includes printed inner sleeve.