Have Guitar, Will Travel

Mdou Moctar is one of a number of Tuareg artists and bands that have brought Saharan music loudly into the 21st century. There's a new album, Funeral For Justice, on its way next month, preceded by the single Imouhar, which roughly translates as 'brother' or 'comrade' and is a familial way to say 'Tuareg people'. 

 

Mdou Moctar is both the person - left-handed guitar shredder and singer Mahamadou Souleymane - and the band - Ahmoudou Madassane (rhythm guitar) and Souleymane Ibrahim (drums). There's a fourth member, NYC resident Mikey Coltun, who provides bass, has produced their more recent records and toured with them extensively. You just won't see him in the video.

Mdou Moctar has been described as "A once-in-a-generation artist backed by an unstoppable rhythm section, Mdou’s music has roots in both traditional Tuareg melodicism and Eddie Van Halen’s daredevil majesty", which is a pretty fair summary.

 

I was vaguely aware of the band and music going into 2020; the song Tarhatazed appeared on Mojo magazine's Heavy Soul Vol. 2: Mojo Presents 15 Hits Of Psychedelic Funk, Black Rock And Cosmic Slop... cover mount CD, for one.

 

However, it was the COVID lockdown, investing more time in engaging with the music blog community and buying more digital music, especially via Bandcamp, that really kickstarted my interest in the Saharan music artists. 

 

A special mention to Ernie Goggins of 27 Leggies fame, who pointed me in the direction of Sahel Sounds and their fantastic roster of artists. Every Bandcamp Friday since 2020, the label has made their entire digital catalogue available as a 'name your price' option, though this also applies to their impressive series of compilations all year round. 

Mdou Moctar appeared on several of these Sahel Sounds collections and inevitably grabbed my attention and I made the leap to buying a full album, 2019's Ilana: The Creator. 

Mdou Moctar crossed over big time, snapped up by Matador Records for 2021's Afrique Victime album and last year's Niger EP, the latter split into two 6-song releases. If Imouhar is anything to go by, Funeral For Justice will be another satisfying record. Here's the opening title track if you need further convincing.

 

The terms of the Matador deal appear to have resulted in Mdou Moctar's contributions being excised from the aforementioned Sahel Sounds compilations, but I'd still urge you to bookmark the link, sample the vast array of artists and music and prepare to fall deep, as I did. 

Funeral For Justice is out on 3rd May.