MDOU MOCTAR PLAYED TWO NIGHTS @ CAFE OTO… LOOKS LIKE I MISSED A GOOD ONE!

I must have been sleeping when the Cafe Oto email dropped. I completely missed the above video.

Tuareg guitarists Mdou Moctar stands apart from his peers. One of the few original singer/songwriters willing to experiment and push the boundaries with his mix of tales of anguished love and broken hearts and well known classics.

Mdou Moctar hails from Abalak, in Niger – a vast, arid state on the edge of the Sahara desert which has endured austere military rule for much of its post-independence history and remains one of the world’s least-developed nations. Mdou taught himself the guitar at a young age on a homemade instrument and traveled the road to Libya where he worked odd jobs. As chance had it met some of the now famous guitarists which enabled him to further his skills. He returned home with a guitar and a dream.

Mdou rapidly established himself on the local scene and in 2008 traveled to Nigeria to record his first album ‘Anar’ – a psychedelic electronic album of Tuareg guitar. He is famous for his autotuned studio sessions that became popular on West African cellphones. ‘Tahoultine’, one of the standout tracks, was later featured on the compilation ‘Music from Saharan Cellphones’.

A scene from the forthcoming film ‘Akounak’

In 2013, he released his first international album, ‘Afelane’, rocking and raw sessions recorded live at his hometown in Niger. He is currently in production in the first ever Tuareg language film, Akounak, a fictional story of the struggle of a guitarist trying to make it against all odds in Agadez.

Watch out for his return…I definitely will…

‘Afelane’ is available on Sahel Sounds on vinyl or download via Bandcamp. http://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/afelan