MDOU MOCTAR
Genres: African Fusion, Jazz Related Soundtracks • Niger

Moctar, born in the village of Abalak in the Azawagh desert of northern Niger, began playing at weddings, singing in Tamasheq, the Tuareg language. His first album Anar – composed for a lost love – was recorded in Nigeria in 2008: it introduced Moctar’s simple, raw guitar sound and haunting lyrics, a style known locally as “assouf”, a word that does not easily translate, but evokes desert blues. Anar wasn’t officially released; instead, it spread across the continent via Bluetooth swaps between mobile phone data cards. In 2011, one of the album songs, Tahoultine, featured on Music from Saharan Cellphones. It was compiled by Christopher Kirkley, the creator of the Sahel Sounds label, who made it a personal mission to track down the nomadic Moctar. Kirkley also made Moctar the star of a homage to Prince’s rock opera Purple Rain. As there is no word for “purple” in Tamasheq, the film, released read more...