Today we will start with a retrospective of the great Nigerien guitarist and singer Mdou Moctar, who has a new album coming out in May. I attended his Ottawa debut concert in 2019 and had tickets for his 2nd appearance in 2020 which was cancelled due to the pandemic. But how much better it would be to see him live in Niger! Starting tonight at 8pm EST we can! Mdou Moctar is streaming, through Bandcamp, some live performances recorded in Niger:
"In winter 2020, the Mdou Moctar band met up in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to record a few songs in anticipation of the release of Afrique Victime. We were staying on the outskirts of town at a friend's home. One day, we quietly set up in front of the house to film a few songs. Despite our relative isolation, the noise of the band inevitably attracted a crowd. What started as the four of us simply playing a few songs for a camera turned into a three-night run of rowdy concerts, bringing in hundreds of eager listeners. Each night, kids from all over the city would line up at our door, rushing over after their final evening prayer. These performances were completely spontaneous and wholly unplanned. Thanks to the audience in Niamey, we were able to capture the spectacular energy of a typical Niamey concert for you."
Tickets for the streamed concert are available here (support great African musicians!), and the stream will be available for 24hours:
https://mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com/merch/mdou-moctar-live-in-niamey-niger
| We start with Mdou Moctar's first recording from 2008. This was before he had a band, a solo effort with drum machines, his guitars, and autotuned voice. The latter was an odd choice, but certainly made a striking, psychedelic first impression! This recording was only available in Niger, passed around through cellphones. Sahel Sounds first brought Mdou Moctar to international attention with their 2011 "Music from Saharan Cellphones" before it was given international release by Sahel Sounds in 2014. |
| Tahoultine Mdou Moctar - Anar - Sahel Sounds |
| The second album we will hear is more recent, however it reflects Mdou Moctar's musical roots. In the rural area he grew up in, where guitar driven music was met with disapproval, Moctar taught himself guitar in secret, and would only play for friends in "takits" or "desert picnics". This 2017 album "Sousoume Tamachek" was his tribute to these intimate private desert picnics. |
| Anar Mdou Moctar - Sousoume Tamachek - Sahel Sounds |
| Amer Iyan Mdou Moctar - Sousoume Tamachek - Sahel Sounds |
| Illmouloud Mdou Moctar - Sousoume Tamachek - Sahel Sounds |
| In 2015 Mdou Moctar starred in the first ever Tamashek-language film "Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai", a Saharan remake of Prince 's 1984 "Purple Rain", set in the heart of Tuareg guitar music, the city of Agadez, Niger, with Mdou Moctar as the protagonist. Mdou Moctar also wrote and performed all the music for the soundtrack. I believe this is the only Canadian source to stream this film:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/akounak |
| Adounia Mdou Moctar - Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai - Sahel Sounds |
| Mdou Moctar's first international release was his 2013 "Afelan" on Sahel Sounds, which features all tracks recorded live on location in Niger. |
| Issusahid Elwaname Mdou Moctar - Afelan - Sahel Sounds |
| Chet Boghassa Mdou Moctar - Afelan - Sahel Sounds |
| Afelan Mdou Moctar - Afelan - Sahel Sounds |
| Mdou Moctar's last album "Ilana: The Creator" was recorded in Detroit in 2019 and was his first studio-recorded album with a band. It is a masterpiece, his best album to date. Blistering guitar driven epics such as "Tarhatazed". |
| Tarhatazed Mdou Moctar - Ilana: The Creator - Sahel Sounds |
| The next set will feature some new releases from Clean Feed Records, an independent jazz label in Portugal, which releases all new recordings of primarily European jazz musicians. |
| La Cigale Sylvie Courvoisier, Ned Rothenberg, Julian Sartorius - Lockdown - Clean Feed Records 
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| Hypnos Jonas Cambien Trio - Nature Hath Painted the Body - Clean Feed Records
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| Mantis Jonas Cambien Trio - Nature Hath Painted the Body - Clean Feed Records
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| Les ombres (Part 1) Dominique Pifarely Quartet - Nocturnes - Clean Feed Records
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| Les ombres (Part 2) Dominique Pifarely Quartet - Nocturnes - Clean Feed Records
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| A wonderful, powerfully dramatic concerto from the very obscure 19th century German composer Hans Bronsart Von Schellendorf. |
| Piano Concerto in F sharp minor Op. 10 Hans Bronsart Von Schellendorf/Emmanuel Despax, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Tzigane - The Romantic Piano Concerto vol. 77 - Hyperion |
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Great show !
1:43 PM, April 22nd, 2021