It's just a bit harder to stay focused."Inviting guests to collaborate is a big part of Tinariwen's way of working.While western music fans will recognise the hushed but heartwarming tenor of Sweden's José González, the local musicians who jump on board are just as compelling."Because the recording was in Tamanrasset, there was this idea of reuniting several generations of Tuareg musicians," Ag Alhousseyni explains."Old Tinariwen members like Diarra and Wonou, who we hadn't played with in years, and younger musicians such as Sadam, Hicham and Haibalah from Imahran."Hoggar marks the first time Tinariwen have recorded with former member Liya "Diarra" Ag Ablil, a longstanding icon of Tamasheq music, in two decades."Diarra is one of the founders of Tinariwen," Ag Alhousseyni says "There's a long history between us, so working together again was easy and emotional at the same time."Hoggar also includes a deeply resonant reinterpretation of the Sudanese song Sagherat Assani — "a song that is very important to me," Ag Alhousseyni says — featuring guest vocals from Sudanese singer Sulafa Elyas, one of a few women who appear on Hoggar.While the core membership of Tinariwen is all male, the music they make is more inspired by women."It was important for us to include female singers on this album," Ag Alhousseyni says."The majority of the music we play today is inspired by traditional Tuareg music played by women