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Mdou Moctar - Afelan LP

Sahel Sounds

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From Cellphone to Wedding, to vinyl LP - Mdou Moctar impresses again -


Known in his home continent predominantly for his recordings that make their way via bluetooth from cellphone to cellphone (see 'Music From Saharan Cellphones' or 'Guitar is my Best Friend' for reference) Mdou Moctar, operates from the Saharan Region of Africa, and is locally mostly known for his appearances at Weddings, showcasing his unique knack for rhythm and song.

Christopher Kirkley, the man behind Sahel Sounds, has done a great thing to press these tracks to vinyl, making available a fine representation of Mdou Moctar's richer, warm acoustic sounds (He has known to produce some very good, but super-weird auto-tuned tracks in his musical career).

The album starts more racy and upbeat, with what must be a recording of one of those wedding shows; hand-claps, shouts and screams in the background, a tougher drum-kit sound and slightly more distortion on the guitars - you can almost feel the cooling breeze of a desert night after a hot day and evening.

As the disc progresses things mellow a bit, and we enter the calmer side of Mdou Moctar - It's a steady-paced affair, so soothing it's hard not to stop what you're doing and just lay your hands behind your head... From the simplified one-drum rhythms to the the gliding guitar and hypnotic song - 'Afelan' innocenntly strives for something solemnly beautiful, and achieves this with ease.

A full heartedly recommended LP.

TRACKLIST:
Side A:
A Fleur Tamgak
Chet Boghassa
Issusahid Elwaname
Maheyega Assouf Igan
Tahoultine
Side B:
Nikali Talit
Amer Iyan
Afelan
Tanzaka
Idagi Achinane


Issusahid Elwaname



A Fleur Tamgak



Tahoultine



Afelan