Mdou Moctar - Niger's freewheeling hypnotic guitar legend

[The Mollusk]

I got turned on to this dude last week following a superb piece a friend of mine wrote for Dazed in anticipation of Moctar's forthcoming album "Afrique Victime" which you can read here and I highly recommend it - it's as exciting to read as his music is to hear.

Moctar plays the guitar with incredible deftness, on record it's groovy and gorgeous but as a live performer he absolutely soars with his transcendent and stunning solo fretwork. These are licks to get completely lost in, and that the message he sings between these extended jams is one of peace and unity only serves to bolster its beauty. Not only that, but also worth considering is that he gained recognition by fans trading his albums via bluetooth on mobile phones, he builds wells in struggling communities for each album he creates and he's a strong advocate for improving women's rights and healthcare. Yes mate.

Whilst I'd agree that the label "Hendrix of the Sahara" is irksome - much the same way that the more broad term "world music" is in that it is clumsily rooted in colonialist attitudes and treating non-Western music as if it's a fuckin alien species - similarly I can appreciate that journos need clicks and I suppose ultimately the more attention music like this can garner, the sooner we can move away from such blinkered turns of phrase. This is NORTH AFRICAN music!

Get a fuckin wheeze of this, blazing psychedelic majesty direct from the Sahara desert right into your brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvPoE0EH1o

[Catalogue of ills]

I found that a bit odd, to be honest. When it started I thought it was going to be a decidedly North African take on rock guitar, but then there are parts where it sounds completely western, and while that's not per se a bad thing, it would probably seem strange if a westerner was doing it, and they probably would be written off as a Hendrix impersonator. I did really like the groove though, and it had that strong rhythmic sense that a lot of African string music manages without drums or percussion, as well as having an actual drummer.

[The Mollusk]

I found that a bit odd, to be honest. When it started I thought it was going to be a decidedly North African take on rock guitar, but then there are parts where it sounds completely western, and while that's not per se a bad thing, it would probably seem strange if a westerner was doing it, and they probably would be written off as a Hendrix impersonator. I did really like the groove though, and it had that strong rhythmic sense that a lot of African string music manages without drums or percussion, as well as having an actual drummer.

A lot of music across Africa in the 1970s was heavily informed by imports of funk, garage rock, surf and psychedelia (not to mention other influences from the music of other Eastern trading nations such as Cambodia and China) but was still distinctly African in its style - the beat, the melody, and very much in the lyrical content, all containing strong elements of traditional African music as well as afrobeat and high life styles. Nevertheless it's easy to see that Mdou Moctar's guitar work - particularly his solos - are definitively of the Tuareg style: hypnotic to the point of being trance-like, albeit incorporating a frenetic finger-picking style traditionally identified with an electric guitar.

The line is perhaps a little more blurred in the 21st century with bands like Goat and King Gizzard (who are both very popular in the West) incorporating elements of microtonal tuning and other broad worldly styles into their music, but this merging of ideas is certainly not something that's new to African music. There are other popular groups/artists like Tinariwen and Bombino from the same regions as Mdou who are known for their "desert blues".

[Catalogue of ills]

I'll defer to your much greater knowledge of the musical and cultural context. My experience of north/west African music is mostly the kora, which is a completely different instrutment, and I know nothing of microtonal whatsits, am very much an audience, an imiber and subscriber, not a provider of music. I didn't get any kind of emotional reaction to the track you posted, but if you have any recommendations of any other hypnotic Tuareg music I'd gladly give it a listen, cheers.

[The Mollusk]

Ah, the only reason I know what I do is via the booklets which come with the "Analog Africa" releases which cover a lot of this stuff, namely individual scenes, labels or bands that sprouted up in African nations across the last five decades or so, often most interestingly in the 1960-70s - I highly recommend digging into this stuff as all of their releases are superb!

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/

[chveik]

this is pretty trance-like

Agali Ag Amoumine - Takamba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uyjMmXVAws

and for gender parity (and because it's good)

https://lesfillesdeillighadad.bandcamp.com/

[The Mollusk]

Heck yeah. Les Filles de Illighadad are, I believe, lead by the sister of Mdou Moctar's rhythm guitarist? Got some of their stuff queued up for listening on my commutes this week as well.

[The Mollusk]

Yer man's new album "Afrique Victime" is out today! You could do a lot worse than spending your Friday evening getting a fucking slick groove on to this thing. Seriously, check it out, it's brilliant.

Afrique Victime (Official Video)

[Catalogue of ills]

Ah, the only reason I know what I do is via the booklets which come with the "Analog Africa" releases which cover a lot of this stuff, namely individual scenes, labels or bands that sprouted up in African nations across the last five decades or so, often most interestingly in the 1960-70s - I highly recommend digging into this stuff as all of their releases are superb!

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/

I listened to the Mogadisco compilation on the back of your post - that's really good. I particularly like Bakaka Band (you'd want to be careful how you pronounced that) and Dur Dur Band. There's a Somali-owned shop down the road called Dur Dur Store - I wonder if they're fans? I loved the production.

[Greg Torso]

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/

A little late, but thanks for posting this link. Some incredible music thrumming through my flat right now. Gonna check a ton of these out.

I like the Mdou Moctar stuff OK, prefer the older songs. Really enjoyed the article in the OP, though.

Les Filles de Illighadad rules and all.

And... press "Post".

[chveik]

make sure to check out the angolan & somalian stuff

[The Mollusk]

A little late, but thanks for posting this link. Some incredible music thrumming through my flat right now. Gonna check a ton of these out.

I like the Mdou Moctar stuff OK, prefer the older songs. Really enjoyed the article in the OP, though.

Les Filles de Illighadad rules and all.

And... press "Post".

I strongly recommend you check out the "Pop Makossa" comp from AA. "Nen Lambo" by Bill Loko is an absolute good-times scorcher, I've become a bit obsessed with it. It's one of the coolest grooves I've heard in recent years.

make sure to check out the angolan & somalian stuff

There's a compilation on Ostinato Records called "Sweet as Broken Dates" which collects a bunch of Somali tunes from the 70s/80s and its fantastic. The tapes were shipped out in the late 80s to neighbouring countries and buried deep underground to ensure their protection from air strikes during the civil war happening at the time. They were only unearthed in recent years and the Ostinato crew had the immense privilege of trawling through them to compile this amazing record. It's a fucking brilliant story and it makes me so happy to know things like this happened to protect good music.

There's a 15-min TED talk detailing it here and it's such a captivating thing, a real thrill, and very much worth your time:

https://youtu.be/-EaZXFEaeI4

Here's the comp, also with the full story in the blurb:

https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-as-broken-dates-lost-somali-tapes-from-the-horn-of-africa

[chveik]

yes i've heard that one, i wasn't aware of that whole story though so thanks!

it's more my thing than the countless afro-funk compilations that exist (i can recognize their high quality obvs)

[Greg Torso]

I strongly recommend you check out the "Pop Makossa" comp from AA. "Nen Lambo" by Bill Loko is an absolute good-times scorcher, I've become a bit obsessed with it. It's one of the coolest grooves I've heard in recent years.

Wow, you weren't messing. Amazing stuff. I bought this comp and another one (the Somalian Mogadisco one). Life is suddenly minutely better.
The thing that's really great though is reading the backstories, utterly crazy some of them, and truly inspiring that music this uplifting and life-affirming can come from such brutally oppressive conditions. That these songs have been rescued from underground crates and bombshelled radio stations, thinking of the musicians recording them, not having any idea that their music would ever be heard outside of this tiny province. Pretty humbling.

[The Mollusk]

Yeeesss glad you're digging it! I absolutely echo your sentiments, I've been digging through a bunch of releases from these archival type labels (Analog Africa, Ostinato, Soundway, Habibi Funk) and am constantly amazed, not that it exists to begin with but that we might have never heard it. It's bittersweet that these countries had such a big western import of funk, garage/psychedelic rock, soul and disco from our ends which went on to fuse into traditional or current styles on their end, but that not a fuckin jot of it made its way back across the pond to us. Artists like Ata Kak for example, dug out of a cassette tray on a market stall by the Awesome Tapes From Africa guy by complete random chance, and just so happens to be some of the coolest most eccentric and vibrant hip hop you're ever likely to hear. I feel blessed every time I listen to this stuff.

[Smeraldina Rima]

Thanks for highlighting the Analog Africa albums. The Pop Makossa one is really good. Will check out the two chveik recommended too, ta.

I like the Denis Mpunga Paul K 1980-84 album Criola released on Music from Memory. They were based in Belgium but Denis Mpunga, well..
https://www.musicfrommemory.com/release/6302/denis-mpunga/criola
Denis Mpunga & Paul K. - Fuanyaka

Big fan of the Tuareg style like Tinariwen (liked by Bono and Chris Martin), Ali Farka Touré and Les Filles de Illighadad. Not listened to much apart from those three. I saw Tinariwen play a few years ago - they were good[nb]Sometimes I feel like I'm at primary school writing about my weekend.[/nb]. Will give Mdou Moctar a bit more of a listen. This might be of interest:

https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/mdou-moctar-14th-april-2021

Tuareg guitarist and bandleader Mdou Moctar picks out some most played tracks from his phone, including music from Sierra Leone, Mali and Niger.