Mahamadou Souleymane (born c. 16 August 1984 or 1986), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...

songwriter and musician based in

Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of Agadez Region, it lies in the Sahara desert, and is also ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa. He sings in the

Tamasheq Tamashek or Tamasheq is a variety of Tuareg, a Berber macro-language widely spoken by nomadic tribes across North Africa in Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tamasheq is one of the three main varieties of Tuareg, the others being Ta ...

language. Moctar's fourth album, ''Ilana: The Creator'', released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the

takamba Takamba is a music and dance native to the Songhai and Tuareg peoples of Niger and Mali. It is both a musical composition and a dance. The musicians play a traditional instrument known as the Kurbu or Tehardent and a traditional African Calabash ...

and assouf styles.

Biography

Mdou Moctar was born in the Nigerien village of

Tchintabaraden Tchintabaraden (var. Tchin-Tabaraden, Tchin Tabaraden) is a town and Communes of Niger, commune located in the Azawagh area of Niger, in the north of the Tahoua Region.It is the capital of the region's Tchintabaraden Department. It is the market ...

, and then grew up in

Arlit Arlit is an industrial town and capital of the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger, built between the Sahara Desert and the eastern edge of the Aïr Mountains. It is 200 km south by road from the border with ...

, a mining town. After listening to artists such as Abdallah Oumbadougou he wanted to play the guitar, but his family disapproved of electric music, so he had to build his own guitar using bicycle cables for strings. His first album, ''Anar'', was recorded in

Sokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the ...

, Nigeria, in 2008 and prominently featured autotuned vocals and influences from Hausa music. The album was not officially released at the time but the songs became popular across the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...

when they went viral through mobile phone music trading networks. Many of Moctar's initial songs were shared as

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

files person-to-person throughout Niger via Bluetooth without his involvement. Some of the songs reached a global audience when

Sahel Sounds Sahel Sounds is an American record label, based in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon which specializes in Desert blues, music from the southern part of the Sahara desert. Details Sahel Sounds was founded by Christopher Kirkley, a self-proclaimed " ...

released them on the ''Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 1'' compilation. Two songs were covered with English

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

lyrics by Everclear, an American band from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. ''Anar'' was released on vinyl in 2014 with a high price, due to "predatory business practices" from

Sixt Sixt SE is an international mobility service provider with about 2,000 locations in more than 100 countries. Sixt SE acts as a parent and holding company of the Sixt Group, which is internationally active in the business areas of vehicle rental, ...

on Moctar's first European tour. His next album, ''Afelan'', was recorded live in Tchintabaraden and features "rusty-edged jams and sun-weathered ballads". The title track is named after a celebrated historical/folkloric hero of the Azawough of Western Niger. It contains a cover of "Chet Boghassa" by Tinariwen. Moctar became aware of international interest in his music in 2014: Moctar released his fifth studio album ''Ilana (The Creator)'' in 2019; it was his first studio album recorded with a full band. ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'''s Bob Boilen named the album "perhaps the most fiery psych-rock of the 21st century" while ''Happy Mag'' placed it at no.13 on their list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s", labelling it "serious music for a serious cause." Moctar's sixth album, '' Afrique Victime'', was released via

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apar ...

on 21 May 2021. The album received positive reviews from international publications including ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', '' Paste'', ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''.

International Tours

During February and March of 2022, Mdou Moctar was touring with sixteen dates as the opening act for

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band

Parquet Courts Parquet Courts is an American rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Sean Yeaton (bass, vocals), and Max Savage (drums). History Band members Andrew Savage a ...

' North American Tour. Moctar also had eight headlining shows added to the beginning and end of this tour, which would be followed up by headlining a spring 2022 European tour. The Irish leg of the tour was cancelled due to visa issues.

Films

Moctar appeared in the short film ''I Sing the Desert Electric'' in 2013. He also had the starring role in the 2015 film '' Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai'' (''Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red In It''). The soundtrack features music performed on set and at L'Embobineuse. In 2022, Moctar appeared in a Fender Sessions video and performed three songs from their album '' Afrique Victime'', including the title track "Afrique Victime", "Ya Habibti" and "Chismiten". Moctar recorded an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, recorded in the winter of 2020 from a home in

Niamey, Niger Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

and released on

's website on 24 May 2021.

Band members

Adapted from album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. * Mahamadou "Mdou Moctar" Souleymane – lead guitar, vocals * Ahmoudou Madassane – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Michael "Mikey" Coltun – bass guitar, backing vocals, drum machines; producer (2017–present) * Souleymane Ibrahim – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2019–present) Former members * Aboubacar Mazawadje Ibrahim – drums (c. 2018) * Mahmoud "Achcouscous" Ahmed Jabre – drums (c. 2016–2017)

Discography

Studio albums

*''Anar'' (2008; reissued 2014 by

) *''Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai'' (original soundtrack) (Sahel Sounds, 2015) *''Sousoume Tamachek'' (Sahel Sounds, 2017) *''Ilana: The Creator'' (Sahel Sounds, 2019) *'' Afrique Victime'' (

, 2021)

Live albums

*''Afelan'' (Sahel Sounds, 2013) *''Blue Stage Sessions'' (

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...

, 2019)

Singles and EPs

*''Tahoultine'' (2011) *''Anar / Vanessa'' (Sahel Sounds, 2012) (split with Brainstorm) *''Ibitlan / Tiknass (Sunbone)'' (Sahel Sounds, 2020) *''Niger EP Vol. 1'' (

, 2022) *''Niger EP Vol. 2'' (

, 2022)

Compilation appearances

*''Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 1'' (2010) *''Music for Saharan Cellphones: The International Reworks'' (2011) *''The Mdou Moctar Covers'' (2012) (split with Brainstorm) *''Pop Music from Republique Du Niger'' (2012) *''Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 2'' (2013) *''Ronald Paris / Mdou Moctar'' (2014) (split cassette with Porches) *''Rough Trade Shops Africa 13'' (2014) *''Mind the Gap #110'' (2014) *''Below the Radar 10'' (2014) *''Afrique Refait'' (2022) (remix album of Afrique Victime featuring only African artists)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moctar, Mdou Berber Muslims Berber Nigeriens Nigerien desert blues musicians Tuareg people Nigerien Muslims Living people Matador Records artists Berber musicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Nigerien male singers Male guitarists People from Tahoua Region People from Agadez Region Nigerien guitarists