RSD 2015 release. LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl and presented in gatefold sleeve with download code; limited to 1500 copies. Taksera (which in Tamashek means "a celebration with music") is a rough and ready live album that is sure to give a jolt to Tuareg rock group Tamikrest's already heady reputation. Recorded on a summer festival stage during their 2014 Chatma (GB 007CD/LP) tour, the album vividly showcases the visceral and improvisational power of the band. The hypnotic grooves of the songs are blissfully extended, and the band's signature drive and electric guitar telepathy are pushed up front and center. The material on Taksera visits all three of the band's acclaimed studio albums and gives a sharply focused argument as to why Tamikrest is one of the most lauded young bands from the African continent. Their 2013 album Chatma reached the number one position on the World Music Charts Europe and graced year-end best-of lists at Uncut, Mojo, Les Inrocks, and The Quietus. Songlines went even further and gave them its "Best Group Award" for 2013. Taksera was engineered and mixed by Jean-Paul Romann, who has produced seminal albums by Tuareg music legends Tinariwen and Terakaft. The album was recorded at the Burg Herzberg Festival in Alsfeld, Germany, on August 1, 2014, and is in every way the celebration that its title promises. It energetically underlines Tamikrest's unique cultural mission and their commitment to explore new possibilities for Tuareg music. It shows a band full of hard-earned confidence and swagger; a band in love with turning up their amps and letting it rip.