Do you remember that Sony advert from around 2007 when all the multi-coloured balls were bouncing down the famous San Francisco hills? If you do then you must remember Jose Gonzalez. His beautiful acoustic cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” provided the perfect backing for a superb advertising campaign. Gonzalez, an Argentine-Swede who grew up in Gothenburg, plays acoustic guitar and sings in an “indie-folk” style, playing and writing mellow, relaxing music. Despite writing his own songs, Gonzalez’s sets have a heavy focus on acoustic covers, such as “Heartbeats”, Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” and “Love will tear us apart” by Joy Division. Television has been hugely important for furthering Gonzalez’s career, as many of his tracks have featured on huge television shows, such as The O.C, One Tree Hill, Brothers & Sisters, Scrubs, House and many more. The 2012 Grammy award winning Tinariwen have been playing together since the late 1970’s. The band from the Desert in Mali, formed in Libyan refugee camps after fleeing Mali. Mixing unique African styles with modern Arabic pop, Tinariwen create a different sound for worldwide audiences. The band finally achieved acclaim outside the Sahara region in 2001. This increased international popularity rose and rose with the release of the critically acclaimed album “Aman Iman”. Tinariwen treated fans at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Thursday, 3rd May 2012, to songs from all five of their studio albums. WinkBall reporters caught up with fans before and after the gig, to talk to them about both Jose Gonzalez and Tinariwen.