Agadez, Niger based Mdou Moctar is a Tuareg singer/songwriter/guitarist and a standout in the Saharan blues/rock scene as one of the first musicians to perform modern electronic adaptations of Tuareg guitar music. Growing-up in an area where secular music was mostly prohibited, Moctar taught himself to play using a homemade guitar. It was many years later when he got hold of a “real” guitar and taught himself to play in secret. Moctar quickly became a favorite among the local youth and even won praise from religious leaders with his lyrics about respect, honor and tradition. In 2008 he traveled to Nigeria to record his debut album, and in 2013 he released Afelan – a compilation of field recordings of his village performances. In 2017, Moctar created a solo folk album, Sousoume Tamachek, a set which evokes desert soundscapes. Which now brings us to the Blue Stage Session – a live album recorded at Third Man Records’ Cass Corridor space with by bandmates Ahmoudou Madassane and Mahmoud Ahmed Jabra on guitar and drums. While many Tuareg musicians have trended toward a more distorted, faster style, Moctar’s music is more traditionally sparse, polyrhythmic, and very psychedelic, and set alongside lyrics sung in the style of Tuareg nomadic poets. Mdou Moctar’s Blue Stage Session is a superb listen and one of my favorite albums of the new year. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Afous d’Afous, Bombino, Etran Finatawa, Terakaft, Tinariwen