Year after year the desert keeps extending its reach and now, even a piece of Brussels seems to be silting up! Don't let that be bad news though because with Kel Assouf Belgium now counts its first Tuareg band. The band was founded by Aboubacar 'Anana' Harouna and Omar Mokhta in 2006 (the latter having already quit the ranks of Kel Assouf again), two Tuareg who washed up in Brussels. With Kel Assouf the duo wanted to promote the traditional music and culture of the Tuareg, but there also had to be a link with their new life in the West, so in their music (these days Kel Assouf is a seven piece band with members from Mauritania, Ghana, France, Mali and Algeria) you'll also hear influences from reggae ('Amidinine'), a touch of Latin ('Tin Hanane') and even some afrobeat ('Afrik'). 'Tin Hanane' (roughly translated "she who came from far away" or "she who moves" and a reference to the Tuareg-primeval mother), the band's album debut, is a strikingly relaxing album; the kind of disk that can easily brighten up a Sunday morning.