Les Filles de Illighadad

Join us at Retreat for a live performance from Les Filles de Illighadad! Please note that seating is limited and will be available on a first come first serve basis.

Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. The lead vocalist and performer, Fatou Seidi Ghali, is one of the only Tuareg female guitarists in Niger. In her youth, she would sneak away with her older brother’s guitar to teach herself how to play.  In lieu of the djembe or the drum kit, Les Filles de Illighadad incorporate the traditional drum and the pounding calabash, half buried in water. The forgotten inspiration of Tuareg guitar, they are reclaiming its importance in the genre and reclaiming the music of tende.

It takes its name from a drum, built from a goat skin stretched across a mortar and pestle. Like the environs, tende music is a testament to wealth in simplicity, with sparse compositions built from a few elements: vocals, handclaps, and percussion. Songs speak of the village, of love, and of praise for ancestors. It's a music form dominated by women. Collective and communal, tende is tradition for all the young girls of the nomad camps – played during celebrations and to pass the time during the late nights of the rainy season.