Sahel Sounds is an American record label, based in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon which specializes in music from the southern part of the

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desert.

Details

Sahel Sounds was founded by Christopher Kirkley, a self-proclaimed "amateur ethnomusicologist", who traveled to Africa in 2008 after hearing a CD by Afel Bocoum. Kirkley spent almost two years in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. When he returned, he started the label, which releases albums frequently recorded by Kirkley in the field. Some of the earliest releases were songs collected from musicians' cellphones, under the title ''Music from Saharan Cellphones''. Problems there included finding out who these artists were so he could get the right permissions and to pay them for their music; he says that the artists received 60% of the proceeds from the first album. One of the artists featured on these compilations was

Mdou Moctar Mahamadou Souleymane (born c. 16 August 1984 or 1986), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a Tuareg songwriter and musician based in Agadez, Niger, who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His musi ...

, whom Kirkley convinced afterward to star in a remake of the Prince film '' Purple Rain''. As an effort to steer clear of cultural appropriation, he claims complete transparency about finances, and divides all profits equally between the group and the label. The growth of the label and of the music industry in the Sahel

Artists

* Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla *

Ahmed Ag Kaedy Ahmed Ag Kaedy (born 1979) is a Malian guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the leader of the group Amanar de Kidal. Originally from Kidal, he is a member of the nomadic Tuareg people, whose distinct style of rhythm and use of the guitar is oft ...

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Les Filles de Illighadad Les Filles de Illighadad are a Tuareg band founded by Fatou Seidi Ghali in Illighadad, a village in the Sahara Desert in Niger. Ghali, it is claimed, is the first Tuareg woman to play guitar professionally. History Ghali taught herself to play on ...

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Mamman Sani Mamman Sani is a Nigerien-Ghanaian musician. He first recorded his electronic organ music in 1978 but it remained largely obscure and undiscovered until 2013. He is considered to be an early pioneer of Synthesizer, synth music in Niger. Sani foun ...

* Tallawit Timbouctou *Hama

Compilations

*''Music From Saharan Cellphones'' *''Music From Saharan Whatsapp''

References

External links

* {{Authority control American record labels Desert blues

Details

Artists

Compilations

See also

References

External links