In December of 2008, Tinariwen gathered in the frontier Malian village of Tessalit to record a new album. The recordings took place in a rented house, out in the bush, in nomad camps and other magical locations. The adventure was filmed by French filmmaker Jessy Nottola and a DVD of that film is included with the physical CD release. Imidiwan: Companions is the band's fourth CD release and it possesses all the elements that have made them so magnetic to western ears: raw simplicity, melodic beauty, songs ranging from the epic and universal to the intimate and personal. The 13-track album, produced by Jean-Paul Romann, who had previously worked with Tinariwen on their 2001 debut album, The Radio Tisdas Sessions, was recorded in Tessalit, the Malian desert village home of band members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Hassan Ag Touhami. Tinariwen has picked up a number of awards (BBC Award for World Music in 2005 and the prestigious Praetorius Music Prize in Germany in 2008) and a raft of 'legendary' fans including the likes of Robert Plant, Carlos Santana, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke, TV on the Radio, and Bono & the Edge.